Reproductive Barriers and Genomic Hotspots of Adaptation During Allopatric Species Divergence.

Theory predicts that in allopatric populations, genomic divergence and reproductive barriers may be driven by random genetic drift and thereby evolve slowly in large populations. However, local adaptation and divergence under selection may also play important roles, which remain poorly characterised. Here, we address three key questions in young allopatric species: (a) How widespread are genomic signatures of adaptive divergence?, (b) What is the functional space along which young sister species show divergence at the genomic level? and (c) How quickly might prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive barriers evolve? Analysis of 82 re-sequenced genomes of the Oriental Papilio polytes species group revealed surprisingly widespread hotspots of intense selection and selective sweeps at hundreds of genes, spanning all chromosomes, rather than divergence only in a few genomic islands.

Genome editing in East African cichlids and tilapias: state-of-the-art and future directions.

African cichlid fishes of the Cichlidae family are a group of teleosts important for aquaculture and research. A thriving research community is particularly interested in the cichlid radiations of the East African Great Lakes. One key goal is to pinpoint genetic variation underlying phenotypic diversification, but the lack of genetic tools has precluded thorough dissection of the genetic basis of relevant traits in cichlids.

Mimicry in butterflies: co-option and a bag of magnificent developmental genetic tricks.

Butterfly wing patterns are key adaptations that are controlled by remarkable developmental and genetic mechanisms that facilitate rapid evolutionary change. With swift advancements in the fields of genomics and genetic manipulations, identifying the regulators of wing development and mimetic wing patterns has become feasible even in nonmodel organisms such as butterflies. Recent mapping and gene expression studies have identified single switch loci of major effects such as transcription factors and supergenes as the main drivers of adaptive evolution of mimetic and polymorphic butterfly wing patterns.