Cornish Scientists Discover
University of Exeter press release
How two butterfly species have evolved exactly the same striking wing colour and pattern has intrigued biologists since Darwin's day. Now, a Cornish scientist has found 'hotspots' in the butterflies' genes that they believe will explain one of the most extraordinary examples of mimicry in the natural world.
Professor Richard ffrench-Constant of the University of Exeter's Tremough Campus, Penryn, has worked with scientists from Cambridge University and from the US on this discovery. The study, which was partly the result of work in the genetics laboratory on the Tremough Campus, has been published in leading academic journal PLoS Genetics.
Heliconius, or passion-vine butterflies, live in the Americas - from the southern United States to southern South America. Although they cannot interbreed, H. melpomene and H. erato have evolved to mimic one another perfectly.
These delicate butterflies have splashes of red and yellow on their black wings, signaling to birds that they contain toxins and are extremely unpalatable. They mimic one another's colour and pattern to reinforce these warning signals.
Scientists have studied these butterflies since the 1860s as a classic case of evolution in action, but only now is modern sequencing technology unlocking the underlying genetics.
The team of researchers, which has been breeding the butterflies in Panama for the past decade, has been searching for the genes responsible for the butterflies' wing patterns and the answer to the question of whether the same genes in two different species are responsible for the mimicry.
Professor Richard ffrench-Constant who originates from Feock, near Truro, and is now based on the University of Exeter's Tremough Campus, said: "Darwin himself wondered why different butterflies have evolved the same colour patterns. Darwin was not even aware of the existence of genes but now we know exactly which genes trigger which colour patterns. This then allows us to understand how the butterflies have evolved to look the same using the same genes - something Darwin could only dream about.
"These genes are important and they not only make butterflies look colourful but they are also the key genes that enable the butterflies to signal to birds that they are nasty to eat."
These butterflies have been studied since Darwin's day because they are such a striking example of adaptation. For years, scientists have pondered whether when different species evolve to look the same, they share a common genetic mechanism.
Because there are thousands of genes in the butterflies' genome, most scientists felt it was unlikely that the same genes should be involved. But the results of this study suggest that this is, in fact, the case.
The next stage of the research is to look at other traits, such as behaviour, because the butterflies have preferences for particular colours and use wing patterns to select mates.
The £100 million Tremough Campus is a Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative -of which the University of Exeter and University College Falmouth are two of the founding partners. It is funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall County Council. Set in 70 acres of countryside, but close to the waterside towns of Penryn and Falmouth, the campus offers a lively student community. The University of Exeter now offers degrees in Biology, Modern Celtic and Cornish Studies, English, Geology, Geography, History, Law, Mining Engineering, Politics, Energy Policy and Renewable Energy on its Tremough Campus, which has expanded rapidly as part of the Combined Universities in Cornwall initiative.