Physiological characterization of the cold-shock-induced humoral factor for wing color-pattern changes in butterflies

Self-Similarity, Distortion Waves, and the Essence of Morphogenesis: A Generalized View of Color Pattern Formation in Butterfly Wings

“…I have examined the color pattern modifications induced by temperature shock or pharmacological treatments (collectively called the TS-type modifications) (Hiyama et al 2012;Otaki and Yamamoto 2004a, b;Otaki et al 2005bOtaki et al , 2006Otaki et al , 2010Otaki 2007Otaki , 2008bMahdi et al 2010Mahdi et al , 2011 (Fig. 7.7a).…”

“…It is worth noting that temperature treatments (Nijhout 1984) and pharmacological treatments (Otaki 1998(Otaki , 2008aSerfas and Carroll 2005) are the only means that can efficiently create this "artificial rearrangement of elements" or "elemental transformation," which is reminiscent of evolutionary trial and error to invent new color patterns based on the nymphalid ground plan. These color pattern modifications are evolutionarily and physiologically relevant (Hiyama et al 2012;Otaki and Yamamoto 2004a, b;Otaki et al 2005bOtaki et al , 2006Otaki et al , 2010Otaki 2007Otaki , 2008bMahdi et al 2010Mahdi et al , 2011, justifying their use as an important method to construct a formal model. The threshold change model is the most popular interpretation of the TS-type modifications (Otaki 1998(Otaki , 2008aSerfas and Carroll 2005) as well as of physically induced modifications (Nijhout 1980a(Nijhout , 1985Brakefield 1992, 1995;Brakefield and French 1995).…”

Undergraduate Evo-Devo Laboratory Exercise: Butterflies Causing Near-Graduate Research Experience

“…It is well known that cold stress induces changes in colour pattern development in butterflies [4] [13]. However, if particular chemical agents like sodium tungstate are injected in a developing pupa, stronger and more frequent modification can be achieved [10].…”

“…There are no mutations induced by our treatments on the DNA level. What we do is the modification of cell signals which execute the genetic program of colour pattern formation [4] [6] [11] [14]. The result is an array of different colour patterns induced in the laboratory by the cold shock treatment or using the chemicals (sodium tungstate).…”

Butterfly eyespot organiser: in vivo imaging of the prospective focal cells in pupal wing tissues

“…During the pre-pupal stage, cells would vertically elongate, but then the dorsal and ventral epithelial sheets are attached to each other later in development. The hindwing cells likely develop a few steps ahead of the forewing cells, judging from the sensitivity to pharmacological injections31. Indeed, the hindwing nuclei appear to be larger, extending to 20 μm in depth, than the forewing ones.…”