THE MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENT BASIS OF SURFACE- AND SEX- SPECIFIC DIMORPHISMS IN BUTTERFLY WING PATTERNS

Abstract

This thesis aims at understanding the molecular and developmental basis of surface- and sex-specific dimorphisms in butterfly wing patterns. Employing a range of techniques from phylogenetics, transcriptomics to immunostainings and targeted gene knockouts, the studies in this thesis address how dimorphisms in dorsal-ventral patterns or between sexes arise. The role of candidate genes such as apterous and doublesex are studied in Bicyclus anynana and sex-specific wing coloration is characterized in Junonia orithya. In chapter 2, I show that apterous A is important in dorsal-specific wing patterning and is a repressor of eyespots. Chapter 3 examines the development of male-specific scent organs and shows that doublesex differentially affects the development of different components that make up this organ. Finally, in chapter 4, I characterized the structural origins of sex-specific colors in J. orithya and generated a ~30 hour wing transcriptome as a foundational resource for this non-model species.