The molecular genetic basis of herbivory between butterflies and their host-plants

Here we use multiple genome-wide approaches to map the molecular basis of herbivory from both plant and insect perspectives, focusing on butterflies and their larval host-plants. Parallel genome-wide association studies in the Cabbage White butterfly, Pieris rapae, and its host-plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, pinpointed a small number of butterfly and plant genes that influenced herbivory. These genes, along with much of the genome, were regulated in a dynamic way over the time course of the feeding interaction. Comparative analyses, including diverse butterfly/plant systems, showed a variety of genome-wide responses to herbivory, yet a core set of highly conserved genes in butterflies as well as their host-plants. These results greatly expand our understanding of the genomic causes and evolutionary consequences of ecological interactions across two of Nature's most diverse taxa, butterflies and flowering plants.

144

Nallu S, Hill JA, Don K, Sahagun C, Zhang W, Meslin C, Snell-Rood E, Clark NL, Morehouse NI, Bergelson J, Wheat CW, Kronforst MR