Characterization of Wnt genes in Coliadinae

Wnts are developmental genes highly conserved across animals. In Lepidoptera, Wnt genes have been implicated in wing pattern development. WntA has been implicated in the wing pattern diversification of Nymphalids. We show that Pierids maintain the highly conserved nature of the Wnt gene repertoire in Lepidoptera, but may deploy these genes differently from nymphalid butterflies during wing pattern development.