Repeated inversions within a pannier intron drive diversification of intraspecific colour patterns of ladybird beetles

Toshiya Ando, Takeshi Matsuda, Kumiko Goto, Kimiko Hara, Akinori Ito, Junya Hirata, Joichiro Yatomi, Rei Kajitani, Miki Okuno, Katsushi Yamaguchi, Masaaki Kobayashi, Tomoyuki Takano, Yohei Minakuchi, Masahide Seki, Yutaka Suzuki, Kentaro Yano, Takehiko Itoh, Shuji Shigenobu, Atsushi Toyoda and Teruyuki Niimi ()
Additional contact information
Toshiya Ando: National Institute for Basic Biology
Takeshi Matsuda: Nagoya University
Kumiko Goto: Nagoya University
Kimiko Hara: Nagoya University
Akinori Ito: Nagoya University
Junya Hirata: Nagoya University
Joichiro Yatomi: Nagoya University
Rei Kajitani: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Miki Okuno: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Katsushi Yamaguchi: National Institute for Basic Biology
Masaaki Kobayashi: Meiji University
Tomoyuki Takano: Meiji University
Yohei Minakuchi: National Institute of Genetics
Masahide Seki: The University of Tokyo
Yutaka Suzuki: The University of Tokyo
Kentaro Yano: Meiji University
Takehiko Itoh: Tokyo Institute of Technology
Shuji Shigenobu: SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
Atsushi Toyoda: National Institute of Genetics
Teruyuki Niimi: National Institute for Basic Biology

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract How genetic information is modified to generate phenotypic variation within a species is one of the central questions in evolutionary biology. Here we focus on the striking intraspecific diversity of >200 aposematic elytral (forewing) colour patterns of the multicoloured Asian ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis, which is regulated by a tightly linked genetic locus h. Our loss-of-function analyses, genetic association studies, de novo genome assemblies, and gene expression data reveal that the GATA transcription factor gene pannier is the major regulatory gene located at the h locus, and suggest that repeated inversions and cis-regulatory modifications at pannier led to the expansion of colour pattern variation in H. axyridis. Moreover, we show that the colour-patterning function of pannier is conserved in the seven-spotted ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, suggesting that H. axyridis’ extraordinary intraspecific variation may have arisen from ancient modifications in conserved elytral colour-patterning mechanisms in ladybird beetles.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06116-1

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