[en] Although phylogenetically nested within the moths, butterflies have diverged extensively in a number of life history traits. Whereas moths rely greatly on chemical signals, visual advertisement is the hallmark of mate finding in butterflies. In the context of courtship, however, male chemical signals are widespread in both groups although they likely have multiple evolutionary origins. Here, we report that in males of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, courtship scents are produced de novo via biosynthetic pathways shared with females of many moth species. We show that two of the pheromone components that play a major role in mate choice, namely the (Z)-9-tetradecenol and hexadecanal, are produced through the activity of a fatty acyl Delta11-desaturase and two specialized alcohol-forming fatty acyl reductases. Our study provides the first evidence of conservation and sharing of ancestral genetic modules for the production of FA-derived pheromones over a long evolutionary timeframe thereby reconciling mate communication in moths and butterflies.
Disciplines :
Life sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Lienard, Marjorie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > GIGA > GIGA Molecular Biology of Diseases ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences de la vie
Wang, Hong-Lei; Department of Biology, Pheromone Group, Lund University, Lund SE-22362,
Lassance, Jean-Marc ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de gestion vétérinaire des Ressources Animales (DRA) > Génomique animale ; 1] Department of Biology, Pheromone Group, Lund University, Lund
Lofstedt, Christer ✱; 1] Department of Biology, Pheromone Group, Lund University, Lund
✱ These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Sex pheromone biosynthetic pathways are conserved between moths and the butterfly Bicyclus anynana.
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