An insect model of cognitive decline and extended longevity

This project combines approaches from evolutionary biology, comparative neuroscience, and ageing research in order to identify mechanisms of extended longevity in the neotropical Heliconius butterflies. Heliconius is a widely studied genus in evolutionary biology, and thus presents a tractable system with many available genomic tools for probing interesting phenotypes. One such interesting phenotype is its extended longevity in comparison with its close relatives, with Heliconius living up to 6 months in the wild - approximately 6 times longer than its closely-related outgroups. This extension in lifespan has been attributed to its pollen-feeding behaviour, unique among butterflies, which provides Heliconius with an adult source of amino acids, and has been linked to a delay in reproductive senescence within the genus. This pollen-feeding behaviour in Heliconius has also been associated with a dramatic expansion of the mushroom body, an insect learning and memory centre, making it an especially intriguing system from a neurobiological perspective.