Heliconius melpomeneFLICKR, JOEKS
Butterfly mimicry
Species: Postman butterfly, Heliconius melpomene
Genome size: 295 million base pairs
Interesting fact: The Heliconius butterfly genus contains several of nature’s most striking examples of mimicry. Using the genome sequence of the “common postman” butterfly, H. melpomene, as a reference, an international consortium of researchers found that the nearly identical wing patterns of H. melpomene and other mimics such as, H. timareta and H. elevatus, were achieved through hybridization—a very rare phenomenon in animals.
The Heliconius Genome Consortium, “Butterfly genome reveals promiscuous exchange of mimicry adaptations among species,” Nature, doi:10.1038/nature11041, 2012.
Prostate cancer genetics
Species: Human prostate cancer
Genome size: 3 billion base pairs
Interesting fact: Exome sequencing of 112 prostate cancer tumors revealed what could be a distinct molecular subtype involving mutations ...
