GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00002430
Main curator
Courtier
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Danaus chrysippus - chrysippus morph - orange background with black forewing tip - formerly bbcc
Trait State in Taxon B
Danaus chrysippus - orientis morph - brown background with black forewing tip - formerly BBcc
Ancestral State
Data not curated
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
African queen
Synonyms
Anosia chrysippus; African queen; common tiger; lesser wanderer; plain tiger; Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758); Danaus chryssipus
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... ; Pterygota; Neoptera; Holometabola; Amphiesmenoptera; Lepidoptera; Glossata; Neolepidoptera; Heteroneura; Ditrysia; Obtectomera; Papilionoidea; Nymphalidae; Danainae; Danaini; Danaina; Danaus; Anosia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon A Description
Danaus chrysippus - chrysippus morph
Taxon B
Common Name
African queen
Synonyms
Anosia chrysippus; African queen; common tiger; lesser wanderer; plain tiger; Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758); Danaus chryssipus
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... ; Pterygota; Neoptera; Holometabola; Amphiesmenoptera; Lepidoptera; Glossata; Neolepidoptera; Heteroneura; Ditrysia; Obtectomera; Papilionoidea; Nymphalidae; Danainae; Danaini; Danaina; Danaus; Anosia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
Yes
Taxon B Description
Danaus chrysippus - orientis morph
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Molecular Details of the Mutation
A cluster of SNPs most strongly associated with background colour (B locus) is found just upstream of the gene yellow and a phylogenetic network for a 30-kb region around yellow groups individuals nearly perfectly by phenotype; although some individuals classed as heterozygous were intermingled with homozygotes.
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Martin SH; Singh KS; Gordon IJ; Omufwoko KS; Collins S; Warren IA; Munby H; Brattström O; et al. ... show more
Abstract
Neo-sex chromosomes are found in many taxa, but the forces driving their emergence and spread are poorly understood. The female-specific neo-W chromosome of the African monarch (or queen) butterfly Danaus chrysippus presents an intriguing case study because it is restricted to a single 'contact zone' population, involves a putative colour patterning supergene, and co-occurs with infection by the male-killing endosymbiont Spiroplasma. We investigated the origin and evolution of this system using whole genome sequencing. We first identify the 'BC supergene', a broad region of suppressed recombination across nearly half a chromosome, which links two colour patterning loci. Association analysis suggests that the genes yellow and arrow in this region control the forewing colour pattern differences between D. chrysippus subspecies. We then show that the same chromosome has recently formed a neo-W that has spread through the contact zone within approximately 2,200 years. We also assembled the genome of the male-killing Spiroplasma, and find that it shows perfect genealogical congruence with the neo-W, suggesting that the neo-W has hitchhiked to high frequency as the male-killer has spread through the population. The complete absence of female crossing-over in the Lepidoptera causes whole-chromosome hitchhiking of a single neo-W haplotype, carrying a single allele of the BC supergene and dragging multiple non-synonymous mutations to high frequency. This has created a population of infected females that all carry the same recessive colour patterning allele, making the phenotypes of each successive generation highly dependent on uninfected male immigrants. Our findings show how hitchhiking can occur between the physically unlinked genomes of host and endosymbiont, with dramatic consequences.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
Related Haplotypes
No matches found.
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