Research progress of the heritable melanism mutation of insects

Variation of body color plays important roles in the environmental adaption of insects, and melanism is the most common type of polymorphism. Among them, many melanism phenotypes are inheritable and called mutants. Different mutants display a wide range of melanism phenotypes. Moreover, the underlying molecular mechanisms and the consequent phenotypic alterations vary significantly among different mutants. Many insects possess spontaneously occurring melanism mutants, which serve as crucial materials for uncovering the mechanisms of melanism and the pleiotropy of melanism genes. In order to fully understand the melanism mutant type and the caused mechanisms. Here, we made a comprehensive review of the information related to melanism mutants, including development stage and region displayed melanism phenotype, physiological and molecular mechanisms, and variation of biological features. Additionally, we made a discussion for the future hot topics in this research field.