MSGID: 1:317/3 640c03f5   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Jewel beetles evolve to see new colors by duplicating their genes    
    New research probes the vibrant vision and complex evolutionary history   
   of jewel beetles    
      
     Date:   
         March 10, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Minnesota   
     Summary:   
         Jewel beetles are striking insects, easily recognized by their   
         vivid colors and metallic sheen. New research investigated the   
         complex evolutionary history of jewel beetles' vision.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Jewel beetles are striking insects, easily recognized by their vivid   
   colors and metallic sheen. Possessing large, well-developed eyes,   
   jewel beetles use vision and color for a range of different behaviors,   
   including finding mates and host plants.   
      
      
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   Color vision in insects differs from our own. Special genes allow many   
   insects to see ultraviolet (UV) light as well as blue and green. New   
   research led by Camilla Sharkey, a postdoctoral associate at the   
   Wardill Lab in the College of Biological Sciences, investigated the   
   complex evolutionary history of jewel beetles' vision. The research   
   team included Jorge Blanco, formerly with the Wardill Lab and now at   
   University of Maryland, Nathan Lord of Louisiana State University,   
   and Trevor Wardill, assistant professor at CBS.   
      
   Previous research by Dr. Sharkey has shown that before the evolution   
   of modern beetles, their ancestors lost the ability to see blue light   
   around 300 million years ago. This may have been the result of the beetle   
   ancestor becoming nocturnal or living in low-light conditions. Later,   
   as beetles diversified, they evolved duplicates of the ancestral genes   
   that allow them to see the UV and green spectrum. These duplicate genes   
   could further evolve, making new parts of the color spectrum visible   
   and allowing more complicated and diverse color signals to be seen.   
      
   Researchers wanted to know if the duplicate genes have evolved,   
   allowing beetles to see colors that their ancestors could not. Since   
   jewel beetles are difficult to keep in a lab, they copied the genes and   
   inserted them into fruit flies, replacing their normal visual genes. Using   
   electrophysiology, they tested the color sensitivity each gene produced   
   in the flies. They then looked for genetic changes that might underlie   
   the shifts in color sensitivity using 3D protein modeling. The study   
   found that:   
       * Jewel beetles have evolved additional blue and orange sensitivity by   
         duplicating and evolving their UV and green visual genes.   
      
       * This enables complex tetra-chromatic color sensitivity to UV,   
       blue, green   
         and orange wavelengths of light, similar to the color sensitivity   
         of colorful birds.   
      
       * Newly evolved genetic changes related to color detection were   
       not found   
         to shift sensitivities as predicted when visual genes were modified   
         and retested.   
      
   All jewel beetle species studied so far have the four differing gene types   
   that were isolated in the research, suggesting that all jewel beetles   
   probably have complex color sensitivity. According to Sharkey, "the next   
   step is to determine if specific types of color vision can be predicted   
   from genes and how color vision is used by insects to better manage pest   
   and pollinator insects, thus improving crop production." Researchers also   
   hope to understand the molecular basis of jewel beetle color sensitivity,   
   which would provide a basis for predicting insect color sensitivity from   
   the gene sequence.   
      
   Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and The University   
   of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Evolutionary_Biology # Insects_(including_Butterflies)   
                   # Genetics # Developmental_Biology   
             o Fossils_&_Ruins   
                   # Evolution # Charles_Darwin # Origin_of_Life #   
                   Human_Evolution   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Beetle o Firefly o Red-cockaded_Woodpecker o   
             Eye o Seed_predation o Evolutionary_psychology o   
             Butterflies,_skippers_and_moths o Algal_bloom   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Related Multimedia:   
       * Jewel_beetle_carapaces   
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Camilla R Sharkey, Jorge Blanco, Nathan P Lord, Trevor J   
      Wardill. Jewel   
         Beetle Opsin Duplication and Divergence Is the Mechanism for Diverse   
         Spectral Sensitivities. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2023; 40   
         (2) DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad023   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230310123524.htm   
      
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