Ovarian Dynamics in Heliconiine Butterflies: Programmed Senescence versus Eternal Youth

• DOI: 10.1126/science.197.4302.487
• Publication Date: 2006-10-05T16:03:07Z
• Authors: Helen Dunlap-Pianka; Carol L. Boggs; Lawrence E. Gilbert
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences

New oocytes are generated throughout long lives in butterflies of the genus Heliconius, which as adults feed on amino acids from pollen. In Dryas julia, a related heliconiine that feeds only on nectar and is relatively short-lived, the original oocyte supply is eventually depleted. Such divergent ovarian dynamics in closely related organisms are significant in terms of both their evolutionary basis and their physiological controls.