The research suggests that the beetle may have gained an evolutionary advantage through this adaptation. Dr Friedrich states that the work “raises the possibility that opsin co-expression is of advantage under conditions where brightness sensitivity is critical.”

The study points the way to broader studies of the development and biology of this pest species. It also suggests that the red flour beetle may be a promising subject for further investigation of cryptozoic animals’ evolution.

Notes to Editors

1 Genomic and gene regulatory signatures of cryptozoic adaptation: loss of blue sensitive photoreceptors through expansion of long wavelength-opsin expression in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum
Magdalena Jackowska, Riyue Bao, Zhenyi Liu, Elizabeth C. McDonald, Tiffany A. Cook, and Markus Friedrich
Frontiers in Zoology (in press)

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