Nature Communications· 2026Q1
The gene ivory:mir-193 controls scale type differentiation in Heliconius butterflies
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
CRISPR knockouts of the ivory:mir-193 locus in Heliconius butterflies converted dark-melanic Type II scales to light Type I scales, demonstrating its role in scale type differentiation.
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Key points
- CRISPR knockouts of ivory:mir-193 converted Type II (dark-melanic) scales to Type I (light) scales in Heliconius butterflies.
- The ivory:mir-193 locus is permissive for Type III (red) scale development, with variable effects observed.
- Loss of mir-193 in H. melpomene mutants resulted in readthrough transcription, suggesting a co-transcriptional termination role.
- These findings identify ivory as a driver of wing pattern variation and mir-193 as a mediator of scale fate diversity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract The ivory:mir-193 locus is a genetic hotspot underlying melanic wing pattern variation across Lepidoptera, acting as a master regulator of melanic scale fate. This includes the genus Heliconius , where aposematic mimicry is driven by three scale cell types: light Type I, dark-melanic Type II, and red Type III scales. We tested functions of ivory:mir-193 in Heliconius using CRISPR-induced somatic mosaic knockouts of ivory and mir-193 across multiple pattern morphs. Knockouts converted Type II scales to Type I scales. Effects on Type III scales varied among and within individuals, indicating that ivory:mir-193 is permissive for Type III development. Using single-nucleus RNA-seq, we profiled the transcriptional landscape of H. melpomene -Δ78k mutants lacking mir-193 . Loss of mir-193 produced readthrough transcription, consistent with a model where miR-193 acts as a co-transcriptional terminator. These data show that ivory drives wing pattern variation, while mir-193 mediates downstream diversity in scale fate across Lepidoptera.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature Communications, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Insect Science
Insect ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences