The Hakubi Project

The mechanisms that form animal color patterns are poorly understood. Unraveling developmental mechanisms is very important toward understanding the functional aspects and adaptive significance of animal traits. Using a polka-dotted fly species Drosophila guttifera, we have been studying the formation of color pattern. In a previous study, we discovered that expression of wingless, a major developmental regulator gene, can induce pigmentation. With respect to the diverse pigment patterns found in flies, how has the wingless expression pattern evolved? We found multiple DNA elements, which code distinct patterning elements. This indicates that a major developmental regulator gene can gain novel expression domains by the addition of new activities in its regulatory DNA region. The gain of new regulatory activity may be a mechanism by which morphological evolution occurs.