Transcriptomic profiling of pupal diapause in the butterfly Pieris napi

• Diapause is a common means of overwintering among insects that is characterized by arrested development and increased tolerance to stress and cold. Diapause is a vital aspect of life cycle timing, and while the expression of specific candidate genes during diapause have been investigated, there is no general understanding of the dynamics of the transcriptional landscape as a whole during the extended diapause phenotype. Here we performed a time-course experiment using RNA-Seq on the head and abdomen in the butterfly Pieris napi. In both body parts, comparing diapause and directly developing siblings, differentially expressed genes are detected from the first day of pupal development and onwards, varying dramatically across these formative stages. During diapause there are strong gene expression dynamics independent of environmental conditions, revealing a pre-programmed transcriptional landscape that is active during the winter. Different biological processes appear to be active in the two body parts. Still, adults emerging from either the direct or diapause pathways do not show large transcriptomic differences, suggesting the adult phenotype is strongly canalized.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Evolutionsbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Evolutionary Biology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

populationsgenetik

Population Genetics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)