New Publication: Interdisciplinary perspectives on scale structure formation

In a new paper out today in Advanced Functional Materials our interdisciplinary team funded by the Human Frontier Science Program presents our perspective on the processes that control scale structure formation. Based on the data and observations collected during our research project, and building on the work of others, we propose an important role mechanical instabilities in controlling the intricate nanostructures found on the surface of butterfly scales. We particularly focus on the interplay between a growing soft compartment formed by the plasma membrane and the outer epicuticular envelope of the developing cuticle, the constraints imposed on this compartment by the actin cytoskeleton, and the spatio-temporally heterogeneous sclerotization of the cuticle precursors. We also suggest how these processes might be controlled by the genome of the butterfly, giving rise to the diversity of structures found within and across species.