Genome
A 273-million basepair draft sequence of the monarch butterfly genome was published in 2011, including a set of 16,866 protein-coding genes. Comparison to the sequence of the silk moth Bombyx mori reveals the Lepidoptera as a relatively fast-evolving order. The monarch genome provides a number of insights into the butterfly's migratory behavior, including the molecular underpinnings of the circadian clock and juvenile hormone pathway, as well as a suite of microRNAs that are differentially expressed between summer and migratory monarchs.
Read more about this topic: Monarch Butterfly