Abstract
Mimetic butterflies are an intriguing study object for evolutionary biology, because unrelated lineages have acquired very similar appearances to match their chemically defended models. The Mocker Swallowtail Papilio dardanus, a large butterfly widely distributed in subsaharan Africa, is a particularly striking example, because it expresses different morphological forms that each mimic a different model. From breeding studies it is well known that a single genetic locus controls the expression of different morphs. Here we aim to understand how this control functions on a molecular level. The first step is to obtain more information about the regulatory gene that is the apparent switch determining the colour morph. We have identified a particular gene region and a potential candidate gene that is likely to be the desired portion of the genome, but further proof is needed. Here we employ a novel approach for associating the potential candidate gene with the phenotype, by testing the correlation of particular morphological types with a set of single nucleotide changes in the gene region of interest. This can be done by pooling wild-caught specimens of each kind and testing which of these DNA changes are common to them, yet are different from the others. A quantitative method for DNA sequencing ( pyrosequencing ) will be used to test for these differences in DNA of different groups. The method will demonstrate a more widely applicable approach on how to associate obvious differences between living organisms and the genes producing these differences.
United Kingdom