{
  "abstract": "The evolution of complex brains required the incorporation of newly evolved neurons into existing circuits, yet the genetic and developmental mechanisms enabling their integration remain poorly understood. Butterflies expanded their color vision by adding a second R7 photoreceptor per ommatidium, a rare departure from the conserved insect eye ground plan. Because each R7 makes an independent stochastic fate choice, this duplication increased the number of ommatidial types from two to three. We identified the genetic basis of this expansion and demonstrated how the brain accommodates the new input. R7 duplication was achieved by converting R3/4 cells to an R1/6 fate, triggering the R7 recruitment program on both sides of the ommatidium. By manipulating transcription factor expression in Drosophila, we engineered a \"butterfly-fly\" that recapitulates this ancient R7 duplication and three-type stochastic mosaic. In the fly brain, two R7 subtypes connect to specific types of Dm8 neurons, which are born in excess and undergo apoptosis if they fail to find synaptic partners. In our butterfly-fly model, these surplus Dm8s are immediately rescued and form subtype-appropriate connections. These findings suggest that population-level variation maintains a reservoir of potentially interacting neurons, providing a developmental substrate that allows the brain to immediately accommodate newly evolved neurons.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.",
    "Halicioğlu Data Science Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.",
    "Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.",
    "Department of Genetics and Development, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.",
    "Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ke Gao",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3006-7073"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Julia Ainsworth",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-5313-7334"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Antoine Donati",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3616-3915"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yunchong Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michelle Franc Ragsac",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1252-1826"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Cara Genduso",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-0181-6642"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zoie Andre",
      "orcid": "0009-0006-9934-1834"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Andrew Tomlinson",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3697-6799"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Michael W. Perry",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5977-8031"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6p5sxx56ghgej.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1126/sciadv.aei7570",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13644764",
  "id": "6p5sxx56ghgej",
  "issns": [
    "2375-2548"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aei7570",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2804|Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220838176",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13644764?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13644764",
  "pmid": "42842662",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": "American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6p5sxx56ghgej.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:41Z",
      "native_id": "10.1126/sciadv.aei7570",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aei7570"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42842662",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42842662"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2804|Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Sensory receptor expansion and neural accommodation in butterfly color vision",
  "title_text": "Sensory receptor expansion and neural accommodation in butterfly color vision",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6p5sxx56ghgej",
  "venue": "Science Advances",
  "versions": []
}