Presentation Details
Seasonal and Sex-Dependent Plasticity in Visual Signals and Sensory Transcriptomes of the Monarch Butterfly

Dmitry Kutcherov1, Grace E.Hirzel1, 2, Joseph P.Goodlin1, Erica L.Westerman1.

1University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.2North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

Abstract


Seasonally changing environments impose strong selective pressures on animal sensory systems, yet plasticity in insect vision remains poorly understood. We examined seasonal transcriptomic variation in eyes and antennae, as well as variation in wing pattern and reflectance, in wild-caught male and female monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) from prairies of Northwest Arkansas. Monarchs were collected in summer (reproductive season) and fall (diapause and migration), two seasons that differ in sensory demands and visual environment. We examined how these differences are reflected in sensory transcriptomes. Both eyes and antennae showed pronounced seasonal shifts in gene expression, particularly in genes associated with energy metabolism, phototransduction, circadian rhythms, and neural plasticity. Wing patterning genes were also differentially expressed across season in sensory tissues. These transcriptomic changes were accompanied by differences in wing coloration. Together, our results link seasonal changes in gene expression and wing phenotype to distinct behavioral states, providing a possible molecular basis for sensory differences between reproductive and migratory monarchs.

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