Authors
Yi-Ming Weng, David H Kavanaugh, Bryan Rubio-Perez, Jad Salman, Mikhail A Kats, Sean D Schoville
Published in
Molecular ecology. Volume 35. Issue 20. Pages e70591.
Abstract
The metallic colour variation of beetles is a spectacular feature that has inspired diverse human cultures. However, little is known about the genetic basis of this trait or its ecological importance. In this study, we characterize the geographical distribution, optical mechanism, genetic basis and ecological and evolutionary importance of metallic colour variation in the Nebria ingens complex, an alpine ground beetle in the Sierra Nevada, California. We find that elytral colour varies continuously across two allopatric species (from black N. ingens to green N. riversi), with hybrid populations showing intermediate coloration, and we demonstrate that the metallic colour is generated from multilayer reflectors in the epicuticle of the elytra. By applying association mapping in natural populations (wild-GWAS) using high-density genotype variants, we identify five promising candidate genes covarying with metallic variation, with known roles in cuticle formation and pigmentation pathways. This finding, together with a significant correlation between colour variation and water availability, suggests that metallic variation evolves as a local adaptation to environmental variation in the N. ingens complex.
PMID:
42888884
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Oct 2026.
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