Butterfly Bicyclus anynana olfactory communication transcriptome
We investigated the evolutionary divergence of sex pheromone communication from moths (mostly nocturnal) to butterflies (mostly diurnal). The molecular basis of sex pheromone communication is best understood in moths, but has remained virtually unexplored in butterflies that evolved from moths ~100 Mya. Through a combination of transcriptomics, real time qPCR, phylogenetics, and manipulative experiments, our results indicate that the butterfly Bicyclus anynana relies on ancestral insect gene subfamilies for the biosynthesis and reception of sex pheromones (including olfactory receptors, odorant binding proteins or desaturases), with the exception of fatty-acyl reductases that evolved also in moths. Interestingly, B. anynana appears to use what was believed to be the moth-specific neuropeptide Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide (PBAN) for sex pheromone regulation.