The eye transcriptome of the butterfly Eumaeus atala

Color vision is largely mediated by changes in number, expression and spectral properties of rhodopsins, but the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptive shifts in spectral sensitivity within specific lineages remain largely unexplored. Using Eumaeus atala, the Atala hairstreak, a colorful butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. we show for that molecular and functional variation of long wavelength (LW) and blue opsin genes contributes in a coordinated way to adaptive changes in green-red spectral sensitivity. We used de novo transcriptomics to identify the various rhodopsins expressed in eye of E. atala and demonstrate how changes at multiple vision genes in the insect eye effectively create a coordinated mechanism expanding spectral sensitivity for visually guided behaviors such as selecting host plants and mates.