BYU ScholarsArchive

Title

Survey of Visual Opsin Evolution Across Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera)

Authors

Ashlynn Powell, Brigham Young UniversityFollow
Jacqueline Heckenhauer, Brigham Young Univeristy
Steffen Pauls, LOEWE - Germany
Paul Frandsen, Brigham Young University

Files

Abstract

Caddisflies are a highly diverse order of aquatic insects. As eggs, larvae, and pupae, they occupy freshwater habitats, while as adults, they are generally aerial and terrestrial¹. Such varied environments call for a flexible and complex visual system. Visual systems are controlled by light-sensing molecules called opsins, which are categorized by the wavelength of light they are most sensitive to². In insects, these categories are:

• Long wavelength (LW)
• Short wavelength (SW)
• Ultraviolet wavelength (UV)

Adaptive duplication of opsin genes is the primary mechanism of evolution that allows for greater visual capacity³. While opsins have been well studied in some insect groups, such as dragonflies, opsins in caddisflies have never been sampled. To gain an understanding of opsin evolution in caddisflies, we analyze the occurrence and phylogenetic relationships of visual opsins in 22 trichopteran genomes.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Powell, Ashlynn; Heckenhauer, Jacqueline; Pauls, Steffen; and Frandsen, Paul, "Survey of Visual Opsin Evolution Across Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera)" (2022). Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022. 6.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/library_studentposters_2022/6

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

2022-3

Language

English

College

Life Sciences

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

University Standing at Time of Publication

Senior

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