Evolutionary genetics of butterfly egg-killing in Brassicaceae

On the evolution of insect egg-killing defences in Brassicales

We study the question whether egg-killing HR and the attraction of egg parasitoids by oviposition-induced plant volatiles (OIPVs) are more common traits in the core Brassicaceae that went through several whole genome duplication (WGD) events and show an escalation in defence trait complexity. Besides exploring the evolutionary background of genes involved in egg-killing within the cabbage family, we explore RNA sequencing data to understand which genes are expressed during the responses.