The actin cytoskeleton plays multiple roles in structural colour formation in butterfly wing scales
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The actin cytoskeleton plays multiple roles in structural colour formation in butterfly wing scales. / Lloyd, Victoria J.; Burg, Stephanie L.; Harizanova, Jana; Garcia, Esther; Hill, Olivia; Enciso-Romero, Juan; Cooper, Rory L.; Flenner, Silja; Longo, Elena; Greving, Imke; Nadeau, Nicola J.; Parnell, Andrew J.
In: Nature Communications, Vol. 15, No. 1, 4073, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - The actin cytoskeleton plays multiple roles in structural colour formation in butterfly wing scales
AU - Lloyd, Victoria J.
AU - Burg, Stephanie L.
AU - Harizanova, Jana
AU - Garcia, Esther
AU - Hill, Olivia
AU - Enciso-Romero, Juan
AU - Cooper, Rory L.
AU - Flenner, Silja
AU - Longo, Elena
AU - Greving, Imke
AU - Nadeau, Nicola J.
AU - Parnell, Andrew J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-48060-3
DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-48060-3
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38769302
AN - SCOPUS:85193741958
VL - 15
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
IS - 1
M1 - 4073
ER -
ID: 393505711