The actin cytoskeleton plays multiple roles in structural colour formation in butterfly wing scales.
Nat Commun
; 15(1): 4073, 2024 May 20.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38769302
ABSTRACT
Vivid structural colours in butterflies are caused by photonic nanostructures scattering light. Structural colours evolved for numerous biological signalling functions and have important technological applications. Optically, such structures are well understood, however insight into their development in vivo remains scarce. We show that actin is intimately involved in structural colour formation in butterfly wing scales. Using comparisons between iridescent (structurally coloured) and non-iridescent scales in adult and developing H. sara, we show that iridescent scales have more densely packed actin bundles leading to an increased density of reflective ridges. Super-resolution microscopy across three distantly related butterfly species reveals that actin is repeatedly re-arranged during scale development and crucially when the optical nanostructures are forming. Furthermore, actin perturbation experiments at these later developmental stages resulted in near total loss of structural colour in H. sara. Overall, this shows that actin plays a vital and direct templating role during structural colour formation in butterfly scales, providing ridge patterning mechanisms that are likely universal across lepidoptera.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Alas de Animales
/
Citoesqueleto de Actina
/
Mariposas Diurnas
/
Pigmentación
/
Actinas
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nat Commun
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM