Pigeon foot feathering reveals conserved limb identity networks.

ABSTRACT: The tetrapod limb is a stunning example of evolutionary diversity, with dramatic variation not only among distantly related species, but also between the serially homologous forelimbs (FLs) and hindlimbs (HLs) within species. Despite this variation, highly conserved genetic and developmental programs underlie limb development and identity in all tetrapods, raising the question of how limb diversification is generated from a conserved toolkit. In some breeds of domestic pigeon, shifts in the expression of two conserved limb identity transcription factors, PITX1 and TBX5, are associated with the formation of feathered HLs with partial FL identity. To determine how modulation of PITX1 and TBX5 expression affects downstream gene expression, we compared the transcriptomes of embryonic limb buds

SUBMITTER: Boer EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6726567 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature