Data from: Light environment drives evolution of color vision genes in butterflies and moths

Opsins, combined with a chromophore, are the primary light-sensing
molecules in animals and are crucial for color vision. Throughout animal
evolution duplications and losses of opsin proteins are common, but it is
unclear what is driving these gains and losses. Light availability is
implicated, and dim environments are often associated with low opsin
diversity and loss. Correlations between high opsin diversity and bright
environments, however, are tenuous. To test if increased light
availability is associated with opsin diversification, we examined diel
niche and identified opsins using transcriptomes and genomes of 175
butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). We found 14 independent opsin
duplications associated with bright environments. Estimating their rates
of evolution revealed that opsins from diurnal taxa evolve faster — at
least 13 amino acids were identified with higher dN/dS rates, with a
subset close enough to the chromophore to tune the opsin. These results
demonstrate that high light availability increases opsin diversity and
evolution rate in Lepidoptera