Seasonal dynamics of mimicry alleles and the mechanisms maintaining mimicry polymorphism

• Project/Area Number: 15K14603
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Sota Teiji 京都大学, 理学研究科, 教授 (00192625)
• Research Collaborator: KOMATA Shinya 京都大学, 大学院理学研究科 ; Lin Chung-Ping 台湾師範大学, 教授 ; FUJIWARA Haruhiko 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 教授 ; IIJIMA Takuro 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: ベイツ型擬態 / 超遺伝子 / 遺伝的多型 / 多型維持機構 / 自然選択 / ベイツ擬態

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Papilio memnon exhibits a female-limited Batesian mimicry polymorphism, an intriguing system for investigating the maintenance of genetic polymorphisms: females display both mimetic and non-mimetic forms, whereas males are uniformly non-mimetic. This polymorphism is thought to be maintained by negative frequency-dependent predation, but no comprehensive investigations have been conducted. We identified two allelic sequences of the putative control gene, doublesex, that directly corresponded with the mimetic and non-mimetic female phenotypes in P. memnon. The mimetic allele of doublesex gene persisted at intermediate frequencies at a site in Taiwan, and an equivalent reproductive performance of the two forms over time suggested that negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS) contributed to the mimicry polymorphism. In a laboratory test for physiological cost of mimetic genotypes, we found no evidence that physiological costs were associated with the mimetic genotypes.

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] National Taiwan Normal University(台湾)
• [Int'l Joint Research] National Taiwan Normal University(台湾)
• [Journal Article] Do juvenile developmental and adult body characteristics differ among genotypes at the doublesex locus that controls female-limited Batesian mimicry polymorphism in Papilio memnon?: a test for the “cost of mimicry” hypothesis (2018)
  • Author(s): Komata, S., Lin, C.-P., Sota, T.
  • Journal Title: Journal of Insect Physiology Volume: 107 Pages: 1-6
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Temporal dynamics of the mimetic allele frequency at the doublesex locus, which controls polymorphic Batesian mimicry in Papilio memnon (2017)
  • Author(s): Komata, S., Lin, C.-P., Sota, T.
  • Journal Title: Scientific Reports Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Pages: 12926-12926
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13419-8
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Seasonal polyphenism in body size and juvenile development of the swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) (2017)
  • Author(s): Komata, S., Sota, T.
  • Journal Title: European Journal of Entomology Volume: 114 Pages: 365-371
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Identification of doublesex alleles associated with the female-limited Batesian mimicry polymorphism in Papilio memnon (2016)
  • Author(s): Shinya Komata, Chung-Ping Lin, Takuro Iijima, Haruhiko Fujiwara & Teiji Sota
  • Journal Title: Scientific Reports Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Pages: 34782-34782
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep34782
  • NAID: 120006223592
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Presentation] Negative frequency-dependent selection on the doublesex locus that controls Batesian mimicry polymorphism in the butterfly Papilio Memnon. (2017)
  • Author(s): Shinya, K., Lin, C.-P., Sota, T.
  • Organizer: 日本進化学会第19回大会
  • Int'l Joint Research