Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/D008484/1
Correlating wing morphology and genetic variation in mimetic butterflies
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor AP Vogler, Imperial College London, Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor CD Jiggins, University of Cambridge, Zoology
- Grant held at:
- Imperial College London, Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Environmental Genomics
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Behavioural Ecology
- 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.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/D008484/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £53,935
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £4,774 | £22,813 | £2,826 | £14,949 | £8,245 | £329 |
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