Genetic, developmental and neural changes underlying evolving butterfly mate preference

Many studies have linked genetic variation to behavior, but the links between that variation and the neural circuits that drive behavior remain elusive. We investigated the architecture of mate choice behavior in Heliconius butterflies, which use vision to identify preferred mates based on wing color patterns. We found that Heliconius cydno mate preference is associated with inter-photoreceptor inhibition of ultraviolet-sensitive photoreceptors (PRs) by long-wavelength sensitive PRs; identified a small number of genetic loci associated with preference variation; and began to link these multiple layers of behavior variation together through analyses of developmental gene networks. Our results support the idea that altered peripheral neural computations, driven by changes to underlying developmental genetic processes, can significantly and rapidly alter essential behaviors. 
This repository contains raw data, scripts, notebooks, and intermediate files that were used to perform and analyze..., Animals
We used butterflies from four different taxa. The H. c. alithea used in the preference and color GWA analyses were previously tested for courtship behavior in Ecuador in 2008 by Nicola Chamberlain and Durrell Kapan. These butterflies were tested for their preference, then the bodies stored in 100% ethanol at -80oC until genomic DNA extractions (see below) [1]. For all other experiments, butterflies were housed in greenhouse breeding colonies at the University of Chicago that were regularly supplemented with new individuals. Adults were fed Bird’s Choice artificial nectar ad libitum and supplied with blooming Lantana as an additional source of nectar and pollen. Heliconius cydno galanthus and H. melpomene pupae were obtained from El Bosque Nuevo in Costa Rica, and H. c. alithea from Heliconius Butterfly Works in Ecuador. Heliconius pachinus and F1 H. c. galanthus X H. pachinus hybrids were bred in Panama and adults were transported to Chicago for experiments. Collection, rearing,..., , # Genetic, developmental and neural changes underlie evolving butterfly mate preference

**Nicholas W. VanKuren (1), Nathan P. Buerkle(1), Wei Lu, Erica L. Westerman, Alexandria K. Im, Darli Massardo, Laura Southcott, Stephanie E. Palmer, Marcus R. Kronforst**

(1) Contributed equally to this manuscript. Contact Nick ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]);[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])) or Nathan ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]);[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])) with questions about the supplied datasets or analysis. 

[Access this dataset on Dryad](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z8w9ghxjz)

## Abstract

This Dryad repository contains raw data, scripts, and notebooks that can recapitulate the key analyses performed in the associated publication and allow further exploration the results. This repository contains three main sections:

1. Data, scripts, and a notebook detailing the genome-wide as...