Monarch butterflies usually migrate from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico during winter each year. Scientists have now found how these butterflies manage flying such a huge distance.
The species is one of the most familiar in America. The average wing span of a monarch butterfly is about 4 inches (10 centimeters) and their orange and black-colored wings make them very easily recognizable. The monarch butterflies are also among the most studied butterflies. They fly for about 3,000 miles, or 4,800 kilometers during winter in search of warmer climate.
Researchers at the University of Chicago suggest that a single gene, which is related to the flight of the butterfly, plays an important role in their migration pattern.
"Our study shows that monarchs have been doing this every year for millions of years. There is nothing else like this on the planet," says Marcus Kronforst, professor of evolution and ecology, who is also one of the researchers of the study.
Monarch butterflies are primarily native to North America, but they are also found in Central and South America and in other parts of the world. However, the monarch butterflies of North America are the only ones to migrate each year.
Scientists conducted genome sequences on just over 90 monarch butterflies. The sample included butterflies from different regions of the world and also nine butterfly species closely linked to monarch butterflies.
To understand the genetic basis of migration in these butterflies, they had to compare the genetic blueprint of non-migratory butterflies with that of the migratory monarch butterflies.
Only one gene was different in the genome of the butterflies examined. The gene was related to collagen, which the scientists explain is the key element found in connective tissue, essential for the flight muscle function. This gene was not active, as they had thought, in migratory monarch butterflies. If the gene is less active, then it enhances the flight efficiency of the butterflies.
The latest study also suggests that the monarch butterfly species originated in North America, and not elsewhere. Findings have been published in the journal Nature.
