Attenuated Fgf Signaling Underlies the Forelimb Heterochrony in the Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae.

ABSTRACT: Powered flight was fundamental to the establishment and radiation of birds. However, flight has been lost multiple times throughout avian evolution. Convergent losses of flight within the ratites (flightless paleognaths, including the emu and ostrich) often coincide with reduced wings. Although there is a wealth of anatomical knowledge for several ratites, the genetic mechanisms causing these changes remain debated. Here, we use a multidisciplinary approach employing embryological, genetic, and genomic techniques to interrogate the mechanisms underlying forelimb heterochrony in emu embryos. We show that the initiation of limb formation, an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) and myoblast migration into the LPM, occur at equivalent stages in the em

SUBMITTER: Young JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6834345 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature