Wright CJ, Stevens L, Mackintosh A, Lawniczak M, Blaxter M.

Comparative genomics reveals the dynamics of chromosome evolution in Lepidoptera.

Nat Ecol Evol. 2024 Feb 21. doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02329-4

“We assigned 4,112 orthologues (78%) to 32 ALGs: 31 autosomes and Z, the sex chromosome. Hereafter, we refer to these ALGs as Merian elements, named after the seventeenth-century lepidopterist and botanical artist, Maria Sibylla Merian” ”Merian elements have remained intact in most species” “Lepidopteran chromosomes arising from fusions retain syntenic domains that reflect the original elements. Remarkably, this includes the M17 + M20 fusion, which occurred ~200 million years ago”