| Title: | Sexual selection contributes to partial restoration of phenotypic robustness in a butterfly |
| Author(s): | Nieberding CM; San Martin G; Saenko S; Allen CE; Brakefield PM; Visser B; |
| Address: | "Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Universite catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. caroline.nieberding@uclouvain.be. Evolutionary Biology Group, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. caroline.nieberding@uclouvain.be. Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics group, Biodiversity Research Centre, Earth and Life Institute, Universite catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Evolutionary Biology Group, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA. Department of Zoology, University Museum of Zoology Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-018-32132-8 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Phenotypic variation is the raw material for selection that is ubiquitous for most traits in natural populations, yet the processes underlying phenotypic evolution or stasis often remain unclear. Here, we report phenotypic evolution in a mutant line of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana after outcrossing with the genetically polymorphic wild type population. The comet mutation modifies two phenotypic traits known to be under sexual selection in this butterfly: the dorsal forewing eyespots and the pheromone-producing structures. The original comet mutant line was inbred and remained phenotypically stable for at least seven years, but when outcrossed to the wild type population the outcrossed comet line surprisingly recovered the wild type phenotype within 8 generations at high (27 degrees C), but not at low (20 degrees C), developmental temperatures. Male mating success experiments then revealed that outcrossed comet males with the typical comet phenotype suffered from lower mating success, while mating success of outcrossed comet males resembling wild types was partially restored. We document a fortuitous case where the addition of genetic polymorphism around a spontaneous mutation could have allowed partial restoration of phenotypic robustness. We further argue that sexual selection through mate choice is likely the driving force leading to phenotypic robustness in our system" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Butterflies/*genetics/metabolism/*physiology Evolution, Molecular Female Insect Proteins/genetics Male Mutation *Phenotype *Selection, Genetic Sex Attractants/metabolism *Sexual Behavior, Animal;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineNieberding, Caroline M San Martin, Gilles Saenko, Suzanne Allen, Cerisse E Brakefield, Paul M Visser, Bertanne eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2018/09/27 Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 25; 8(1):14315. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32132-8" |
