近日，美国康奈尔大学Robert D. Reed等研究人员合作揭示蝴蝶翅膀图案计划的深层顺式调控同源性。相关论文于2022年10月21日发表于国际学术期刊《科学》。

研究人员表示，蝴蝶翅膀的图案来自于一个深度保守的发育基础计划，但它是多样化的，并迅速演化。人们对基因调控结构如何同时适应深度同源性和适应性变化知之甚少。

为了解决这个问题，研究人员描述了蛱蝶的颜色图案基因WntA的顺式调控演化。利用转座酶可及性染色质测序法（ATAC-seq）进行比较测定，并在体内删除跨越5个物种的46个顺式调控元件，研究人员发现除帝王蝶外，计划决定性序列有很深的同源性。此外，非编码缺失显示了积极和消极的调节作用，这些作用往往是广泛的。这些研究结果为预测快速增强子更替的模型提供了很少的支持，并表明深层祖先的、多功能的非编码元件可以成为快速演化性状系统的基础。

附：英文原文

Title: Deep cis-regulatory homology of the butterfly wing pattern ground plan

Author: Anyi Mazo-Vargas, Anna M. Langmüller, Alexis Wilder, Karin R. L. van der Burg, James J. Lewis, Philipp W. Messer, Linlin Zhang, Arnaud Martin, Robert D. Reed

Issue&Volume: 2022-10-21

Abstract: Butterfly wing patterns derive from a deeply conserved developmental ground plan yet are diverse and evolve rapidly. It is poorly understood how gene regulatory architectures can accommodate both deep homology and adaptive change. To address this, we characterized the cis-regulatory evolution of the color pattern gene WntA in nymphalid butterflies. Comparative assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq) and in vivo deletions spanning 46 cis-regulatory elements across five species revealed deep homology of ground plan–determining sequences, except in monarch butterflies. Furthermore, noncoding deletions displayed both positive and negative regulatory effects that were often broad in nature. Our results provide little support for models predicting rapid enhancer turnover and suggest that deeply ancestral, multifunctional noncoding elements can underlie rapidly evolving trait systems.

DOI: abi9407

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi9407