GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00001758
Main curator
Courtier
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus - YG allele - yellow-green
Trait State in Taxon B
Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus - GR allele - green
Ancestral State
Data not curated
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Pyrophorus plagiophthalmus
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... thropoda; Arthropoda; Mandibulata; Pancrustacea; Hexapoda; Insecta; Dicondylia; Pterygota; Neoptera; Holometabola; Coleoptera; Polyphaga; Elateriformia; Elateroidea; Elateridae; Agrypninae; Pyrophorus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon A Description
Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus - YG allele
Taxon B
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Pyrophorus plagiophthalmus
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... thropoda; Arthropoda; Mandibulata; Pancrustacea; Hexapoda; Insecta; Dicondylia; Pterygota; Neoptera; Holometabola; Coleoptera; Polyphaga; Elateriformia; Elateroidea; Elateridae; Agrypninae; Pyrophorus
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon B Description
Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus - GR allele
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Generic Gene Name
-
Synonyms
-
String
-
Sequence Similarities
Belongs to the ATP-dependent AMP-binding enzyme family.
UniProtKB
Photinus pyralis
GenebankID or UniProtKB
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
SNP
SNP Coding Change
Nonsynonymous
Molecular Details of the Mutation
exact causing amino acid change(s) unknown
Experimental Evidence
Taxon A Taxon B Position
Codon - - -
Amino-acid - - -
Authors
Stolz U; Velez S; Wood KV; Wood M; Feder JL
Abstract
The Jamaican click beetle Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus (Coleoptera: Elateridae) is unique among all bioluminescent organisms in displaying a striking light color polymorphism [Biggley, W. H., Lloyd, J. E. & Seliger, H. H. (1967) J. Gen. Physiol. 50, 1681-1692]. Beetles on the island vary in the color of their ventral light organs from yellow-green to orange and their dorsal organs from green to yellow-green. The genetic basis for the color variation involves specific amino acid substitutions in the enzyme luciferase. Here, we show that dorsal and ventral light color in P. plagiophthalamus are under separate genetic control, we resolve the allelic basis for color variation, and, through analyses of luciferase sequence variation, we demonstrate that natural selection has produced a long-term adaptive trend for longer wavelength (more orange) ventral light on Jamaica. Our results constitute a novel example connecting the selective fixation of specific nucleotides in nature to their precisely determined phenotypic effects. We also present evidence suggesting that a recently derived ventral orange luciferase allele on the island has deterministically increased in frequency. Thus, the current luciferase polymorphism for P. plagiophthalamus appears to be mirroring the long-term anagenic trend on Jamaica, revealing a possible ongoing adaptive color transition in progress.
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
3
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