Developmental, cellular and biochemical basis of transparency in clearwing butterflies.

ABSTRACT: The wings of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are typically covered with thousands of flat, overlapping scales that endow the wings with colorful patterns. Yet, numerous species of Lepidoptera have evolved highly transparent wings, which often possess scales of altered morphology and reduced size, and the presence of membrane surface nanostructures that dramatically reduce reflection. Optical properties and anti-reflective nanostructures have been characterized for several 'clearwing' Lepidoptera, but the developmental processes underlying wing transparency are unknown. Here, we applied confocal and electron microscopy to create a developmental time series in the glasswing butterfly, Greta oto, comparing transparent and non-transparent wing regions. We found that during early wing devel

SUBMITTER: Pomerantz AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8340268 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature