Uncovering the principles of the formation and evolution of biological forms

 

Earth is filled with organisms with a remarkable diversity of sophisticated body forms. These range from conspicuous macroscopic morphologies, such as the powerful wings of a soaring condor, to functional microscopic structures, exemplified by the photonic crystals embedded in the iridescent feathers of peacocks. Across many biological scales, living organisms have evolved sophisticated body
forms.

In the laboratory of adaptive morphology, we use insects as model systems to investigate how diverse constraints have shaped the evolution of body forms. We focus on body morphologies that are both beautiful—because they are subject to geometric and physicochemical
constraints—and adaptive—because they are shaped by
environmental pressures and historical contingencies. Our goal is to clarify at the molecular level how the interplay among these different constraints drives the evolution of diverse biological forms.

 

Using the diverse color patterns of ladybird beetles and the evolution of metallic photonic crystals formed by weevils as model systems, we combine genomic approaches to uncover how the constraints underlying
adaptive morphological evolution have been encoded in the genome. Furthermore, by using genome editing to manipulate this information, we aim to establish an approach for experimentally reconstructing and observing evolutionary processes in the laboratory,
thereby providing direct empirical insight into the evolution of adaptive forms.