{
  "abstract": "Butterfly wings exhibit a remarkable diversity of structural iridescent colours, yet the genetic regulation of iridescence remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the Iroquois-complex transcription factor gene araucan plays a role in modulating wing scale iridescence in the common buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia. Using CRISPR-Cas9 knockouts, we demonstrate that loss of araucan function causes dorsal wing scales to shift from golden-brown to blue iridescence, and eyespot centre scales to shift from saturated purple-violet to dull grey-brown. These phenotypes are associated with increased lower lamina thickness (LL) in dorsal cover scales and decreased LL in eyespot-centre cover and ground scales, effects known to influence thin-film interference iridescence, along with reduced pigmentation in eyespot ground scales. Together, these results identify araucan as a single transcription factor that determines colouration by simultaneously regulating both photonic architecture and light-absorbing pigmentation and show that these effects can be regulated in a pattern-specific manner. Our findings provide a framework for linking gene regulation to the spatially coordinated evolution of structural and pigmentary components of colour.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY,14853",
    "Department of Biological Sciences, Colombian College of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C, 20052"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Martik Chatterjee",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4689-6212"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cédric Finet",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4196-9064"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kate J. Siegel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shen Tian"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yifei Zhou",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8320-6212"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "ling shen loh",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0981-7984"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xin Yi YU"
    },
    {
      "name": "seydeanna delgado"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jeanne M.C. McDonald",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3668-3782"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eirene Markenscoff-Papadimitriou",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3803-9990"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anyi Mazo‐Vargas",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9644-2871"
    },
    {
      "name": "Antónia Monteiro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Robert D. Reed",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6065-6728"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2vpm7rh0na72z.bib",
  "cited_by": 6,
  "doi": "10.1098/rspb.2025.2984",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2vpm7rh0na72z",
  "issns": [
    "0080-4649",
    "0962-8452",
    "1471-2954",
    "2053-9193"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2984",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1109|Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7160889774",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": "42120037",
  "published": "2026-05-13",
  "publisher": "Royal Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2vpm7rh0na72z.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T13:20:51Z",
      "native_id": "W7160889774",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.2984"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1109|Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy",
      "subfield": "zoology-behaviour"
    }
  ],
  "title": "araucan regulates butterfly wing iridescence by coordinating scale structure and pigmentation",
  "title_text": "araucan regulates butterfly wing iridescence by coordinating scale structure and pigmentation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T13:21:09Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2vpm7rh0na72z",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences",
  "versions": []
}