The gene ivory:mir-193 controls scale type differentiation in Heliconius butterflies.

CRISPR mosaic knockouts of ivory:mir-193 in Heliconius convert dark-melanic Type II wing scales into light Type I scales, across multiple pattern morphs.

• Why it matters: Wing pattern diversification in Lepidoptera depends on how scale cell fates are specified, but the functional logic linking a hotspot locus to specific scale identities is unclear.
• What they did: The study used CRISPR-induced somatic mosaic knockouts of ivory and mir-193 in Heliconius, then applied single-nucleus RNA-seq to Heliconius melpomene Δ78k mutants lacking mir-193.
• The result: mir-193 loss causes readthrough transcription, consistent with mir-193 acting as a co-transcriptional terminator, and implies it modulates scale cell identity during pupal wing development.

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