Introduction

A new investigation on Amazonian Heliconius butterflies has been the first study
able to show the possibility to produce different splotches red coloring on a larger area
of yellow of color on butterflys wings by interbreeding the species to create new
patterns.
Researchers traced the merging of the two common color patterns in the Optix
gene, the gene responsible for producing red patches on butterflies wings.
They believe that they can modify these genes resulting in an evolutionary uniqueness, as
it pertains to the pattern changes on butterflies wings, without affecting the functionality
of the specie. Our work suggests a new mechanism for generating evolutionary novelty,
by shuffling these genetics switches among lineages and whiting species (Wallbank et
al. 2)
The scientists gathered information that can prove how the existing genetic
switches can be shuffled and shared between species. This research provides more
answers about the evolution of genes even if they have occurred before our existence.
They hypothesized that the reason why the optix gene is expressed in different regions of
the butterflies wings is because there is a non-encoding region in the DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid) called the cis-regulatory element that controls the expression of
the different patterns.
Materials and Methods
To perform their study, the researchers collected 142 butterflies from 17 different
species, at the Smithosonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and the Ministerio del
Ambiente in Ecuador. The wings were removed and kept in labeled envelopes, the bodies

were kept in a Salt Saturated Solution, they isolated the DNA from a 3rd part of their
thorax, the DNA was purified and the RNA (Ribonucleic acid) was removed.
Along with the salt saturated solution to preserve the samples, the researchers also
used a Tissue Lysis Buffer, and a DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit from Qiagen. They aligned
and sequenced the genomes, and tested the association between genotype and phenotype,
and fixed nucleotide differences from the samples.
Results
The researchers created a data table with different dates that helped them compare
when the changes were happening, and what those changes were. They displayed graphs
with the modifications between the dennis pattern, and the red "ray" splotch on the hind
wing.
The result revealed how each color gene had evolved only once, and in different
species, but also revealed that it was shared across all Heliconius species at random
interbreeding points traced back nearly two million years.
Discussion
Results show that its possible to get an entirely new butterfly wing pattern by
mixing genetic materials. Even though the genomes that control these color splotches are
located near each other, they are able to operate independently.
They observed enough specimens and gathered enough data to conclude that the
shuffling mechanism controls how much color goes into each spot, which would also
allow for fast changes in the patterns. The researchers noted that a new wing pattern
could be very useful for butterflies since they use their patterns as a form of defense from

predators. They also stated that there was no noticeable change on the functionality of the
butterfly based on the genetic switches.
Some limitations that the study was not able to overcome were that all the
butterflies were members of the same group, and therefore the study was only able to
prove the shuffling of colors and spots.

Bibliography
Wallbank RWR, Baxter SW, Pardo Diaz C, Hanly JJ, Martin SH, Mallet J, et al. (2016)
"Evolutionary Novelty in a Butterfly Wing Pattern through Enhancer Shuffling."
PLOS Biology:. N.p., 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.