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Abstract BackgroundAnimal behavior is largely driven by the information that animals are able to extract and process from their environment. However, the function and organization of sensory systems often change throughout ontogeny, particularly in animals that undergo indirect development. As an initial step toward investigating these ontogenetic changes at the molecular level, we characterized the sensory gene repertoire and examined the expression profiles of genes linked to vision and chemosensation in two life stages of an insect that goes through metamorphosis, the butterflyBicyclus anynana. ResultsUsing RNA-seq, we compared gene expression in the heads of late fifth instar larvae and newly eclosed adults that were reared under identical conditions. Over 50 % of all expressed genes were differentially expressed between the two developmental stages, with 4,036 genes upregulated in larval heads and 4,348 genes upregulated in adult heads. In larvae, upregulated vision-related genes were biased toward those involved with eye development, while phototransduction genes dominated the vision genes that were upregulated in adults. Moreover, the majority of the chemosensory genes we identified in theB. anynanagenome were differentially expressed between larvae and adults, several of which share homology with genes linked to pheromone detection, host plant recognition, and foraging in other species of Lepidoptera. ConclusionsThese results revealed promising candidates for furthering our understanding of sensory processing and behavior in the disparate developmental stages of butterflies and other animals that undergo metamorphosis. 

Abstract Sexually dimorphic behaviour is pervasive across animals, with males and females exhibiting different mate selection, parental care, foraging, dispersal, and territorial strategies. However, the genetic underpinnings of sexually dimorphic behaviours are poorly understood. Here we investigate gene networks and expression patterns associated with sexually dimorphic imprinting‐like learning in the butterflyBicyclus anynana. In this species, both males and females learn visual preferences, but learn preferences for different traits and use different signals as salient, unconditioned cues. To identify genes and gene networks associated with this behaviour, we examined gene expression profiles of the brains and eyes of male and female butterflies immediately post training and compared them to the same tissues of naïve individuals. We found more differentially expressed genes and a greater number of associated gene networks in the eyes, indicating a role of the peripheral nervous system in visual imprinting‐like learning. Females had higher chemoreceptor expression levels than males, supporting the hypothesized sexual dimorphic use of chemical cues during the learning process. In addition, genes that influenceB. anynanawing patterns (sexual ornaments), such asinvected,spalt, andapterous, were also differentially expressed in the brain and eye, suggesting that these genes may influence both sexual ornaments and the preferences for these ornaments. Our results indicate dynamic and sex‐specific responses to social scenario in both the peripheral and central nervous systems and highlight the potential role of wing patterning genes in mate preference and learning across the Lepidoptera.