The predictability of genomic changes underlying a recent host shift in Melissa blue butterflies

Despite accumulating evidence that evolution can be predictable, studies quantifying the predictability of evolution remain rare. Here, we measured the predictability of genome-wide evolutionary changes associated with a recent host shift in the Melissa blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa). We asked whether and to what extent genome-wide patterns of evolutionary change in nature could be predicted (1) by comparisons among instances of repeated evolution, and (2) from SNP $\times$ performance associations in a lab experiment. We delineated the genetic loci (SNPs) most strongly associated with host use in two L. melissa lineages that colonized alfalfa. Whereas most SNPs were strongly associated with host use in none or one of these lineages, we detected a ~two-fold excess of SNPs associated with host use in both lineages. Similarly, we found that host-associated SNPs in nature could also be partially predicted from SNP $\times$ performance (survival and weight) associations in a lab rearin...