The genetic and developmental control of complex nanostructure formation in butterfly wing scales

Butterfly wings are natural wonders, covered in colourful scales that are used for signaling, thermoregulation and to help with aerodynamic performance. This beauty and wonder extends beyond the visible, with each scale being intricately patterned on the sub-micron level. These nanostructures are essential for the properties of the scales, including producing structural colour.

This project will investigate how these nanostructures are formed from a genetic and developmental perspective. Previous genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis has identified several genes/proteins that differ between scales of different morphologies, specifically those with nanostructures that produce a blue colour and those that lack this colour/structure. These include membrane, actin and cuticle bound proteins, some of which have functions in bristle formation in Drosophila melanogaster, interesting as bristles and scales are developmentally homologous.

The PhD student will investigate the role of these genes in both Drosophila bristle and cuticle formation and butterfly wing scale formation. The student will be trained in a range of techniques including fluorescent confocal microscopy to localize and image specific proteins during development, electron microscopy to image scale and bristle nanostructures and genetic manipulation techniques such as CRISPR/Cas and RNAi.