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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe The expression of _WntA_ is known to determine patterns of wing coloration across a range of butterfly species, which show rapidly evolving

diversity derived from a conserved ground plan. However, how genetic variation correlates with these micro- and macro-evolutionary changes remains poorly understood. Mazo-Vargas et al. used

Hi-C and ATAC-seq to characterize the regulatory landscape of _WntA_ in 5 butterfly species, followed by CRISPR–Cas9 shotgun mosaic deletion of 46 candidate _cis_-regulatory elements (CREs).

Individual loss of CREs resulted in observable pattern changes across all species, with deeply conserved elements regulating both the shared ground plan and species-specific pigmentation.

Interestingly, both gain- and loss-of-function phenotypes were observed that could be phenocopied by heparin induction of WntA signaling. Together, these data highlight the molecular

complexity of developmental gene regulation, even within closely related species, and indicate that sequence conservation at any given CRE does not necessarily prevent phenotypic innovation.

A holistic view of interacting enhancer networks will be needed to fully comprehend the mechanistic links between genetic variation, complex traits and evolution. ORIGINAL REFERENCE:

_Science_ https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abi9407 (2022) This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your

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AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Nature Genetics https://www.nature.com/ng Michael Fletcher Authors * Michael Fletcher View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Michael Fletcher. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Fletcher, M.

Butterfly wing pattern diversity. _Nat Genet_ 54, 1764 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01266-x Download citation * Published: 05 December 2022 * Issue Date: December 2022 * DOI:

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