Red Butterfly Patterns All from One Gene

In a study in ScienceDaily, Smithsonian scientists in Panama have discovered a single gene that codes for all variations of red wing patterns in Heliconius butterflies. By combining old techniques with new, this fascinating new information was discovered; one gene for all red coloration in their wings. The only thing that differs, making different patterns of red, is the way this gene is regulated. Scientists accomplished this by looking at genes through different screens of butterflies with red wing patterns, and butterflies without them. They found such a gene that matched up every time to where the red pigment occurred on the wings.

 The interesting part is that this same gene is also one that is already known to code for assisting in eye development for other animals. It’s known as the Optix gene. This is a spectacular discovery because genetic variations in the tropics have always been a mystery to scientists. Now that they know one gene can cause some many variations, these scientists believe that the diversity of our world may be coded by far less genes than originally believed.