Epigenesis in developing avian scales

Tanaka, Shoji; Sugihara-Yamamoto, Hisako; Kato, Yoshihiro

doi:10.1016/0012-1606(87)90183-7

Cited by 27 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…If the latter hypothesis is correct, this differs from the modern bird feet that we have been able to examine, where SSFs are rarely observed in hatchlings and seem to be absent in adults, thus limiting comparisons to enantiornithines 8 . Modern bird embryos can be manipulated to produce a larger number of prominent filaments that are more directly comparable to those in DIP-V-15105a, by introducing retinoic acid, β-catenin 30,31 or bromodeoxyuridine 32 , or by modifying the expression of Spry2 or Sox18 33 . The most similar results to date have been obtained through retinoic acid treatments and Sox18 manipulation, which yield filaments that are virtually indistinguishable from SSFs, except for their concentration on the scutes and scutellae of the metatarsals, as opposed to the digits themselves in DIP-V-15105a.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A fully feathered enantiornithine foot and wing fragment preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Xing

McKellar

O’Connor

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Over the last three years, Burmese amber (~99 Ma, from Myanmar) has provided a series of immature enantiornithine skeletal remains preserved in varying developmental stages and degrees of completeness. These specimens have improved our knowledge based on compression fossils in Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, adding details of three-dimensional structure and soft tissues that are rarely preserved elsewhere. Here we describe a remarkably well-preserved foot, accompanied by part of the wing plumage. These body parts were likely dismembered, entering the resin due to predatory or scavenging behaviour by a larger animal. The new specimen preserves contour feathers on the pedal phalanges together with enigmatic scutellae scale filament (SSF) feathers on the foot, providing direct analogies to the plumage patterns observed in modern birds, and those cultivated through developmental manipulation studies. Ultimately, this connection may allow researchers to observe how filamentous dinosaur ‘protofeathers’ developed—testing theories using evolutionary holdovers in modern birds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A fully feathered enantiornithine foot and wing fragment preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Xing

McKellar

O’Connor

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…In this study, we identified that FGF20 is likely being targeted by gga-miR-6651-5p in the scale 8 vs. scale 17 and 19 comparison groups. Interestingly, studies using scaleless chickens have demonstrated that scutate scale formation may be contingent on the inhibition of the formation of feather placodes and that this occurs around day 8 of embryogenesis (Dhouailly et al, 1980; Sawyer and Knapp, 2003; Tanaka et al, 1987). In fact, normal feather development begins earlier than scale development (Lucas and Stettenheim, 1972; Rawles, 1963; Tanaka and Kato, 1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expressed miRNAs target feather related mRNAs involved in cell signaling, cell adhesion and structure during chicken epidermal development

Bao

Greenwold

Sawyer

2016

Gene

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Previous studies have shown that miRNA regulation contributes to a diverse set of processes including cellular differentiation and morphogenesis which leads to the creation of different cell types in multicellular organisms and is thus key to animal development. Feathers are one of the most distinctive features of extant birds and are important for multiple functions including flight, thermal regulation, and sexual selection. However, the role of miRNAs in feather development has been woefully understudied despite the identification of cell signaling pathways, cell adhesion molecules and structural genes involved in feather development. In this study, we performed a microarray experiment comparing the expression of miRNAs and mRNAs among three embryonic stages of development and two tissues (scutate scale and feather) of the chicken. We combined this expression data with miRNA target prediction tools and a curated list of feather related genes to produce a set of 19 miRNA-mRNA duplexes. These targeted mRNAs have been previously identified as important cell signaling and cell adhesion genes as well as structural genes involved in feather and scale morphogenesis. Interestingly, the miRNA target site of the cell signaling pathway gene, Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family, Member A3 (ALDH1A3), is unique to birds indicating a novel role in Aves. The identified miRNA target site of the cell adhesion gene, Tenascin C (TNC), is only found in specific chicken TNC splice variants that are differentially expressed in developing scutate scale and feather tissue indicating an important role of miRNA regulation in epidermal differentiation. Additionally, we found that β-keratins, a major structural component of avian and reptilian epidermal appendages, are targeted by multiple miRNA genes. In conclusion, our work provides quantitative expression data on miRNAs and mRNAs during feather and scale development and has produced a highly diverse, but manageable list of miRNA-mRNA duplexes for future validation experiments.

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“…ptilopody) has been found to be caused by a range of molecules that seem to involve different signaling pathways. For instance, over-expression of β-catenin [ 9 ] and Delta1 [ 10 ], treatment with retinoic acid [ 11 , 12 ], repression of BMPR1B [ 13 ], and non-specific administration of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) [ 14 ], each can induce scale to feather conversions, although the extent of conversion can differ between these agents. Moreover, an ectopic feather-bearing skin can be induced by Noggin and Shh-expressing cells [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptome analyses of reprogrammed feather / scale chimeric explants revealed co-expressed epithelial gene networks during organ specification

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThe molecular mechanism controlling regional specific skin appendage phenotypes is a fundamental question that remains unresolved. We recently identified feather and scale primordium associated genes and with functional studies, proposed five major modules are involved in scale-to-feather conversion and their integration is essential to form today’s feathers. Yet, how the molecular networks are wired and integrated at the genomic level is still unknown.ResultsHere, we combine classical recombination experiments and systems biology technology to explore the molecular mechanism controlling cell fate specification. In the chimeric explant, dermal fate is more stable, while epidermal fate is reprogrammed to be similar to the original appendage type of the mesenchyme. We analyze transcriptome changes in both scale-to-feather and feather-to-scale transition in the epidermis. We found a highly interconnected regulatory gene network controlling skin appendage types. These gene networks are organized around two molecular hubs, β-catenin and retinoic acid (RA), which can bind to regulatory elements controlling downstream gene expression, leading to scale or feather fates. ATAC sequencing analyses revealed about 1000 altered widely distributed chromatin open sites. We find that perturbation of a key gene alters the expression of many other co-expressed genes in the same module.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that these feather / scale fate specification genes form an interconnected network and rewiring of the gene network can lead to changes of appendage phenotypes, acting similarly to endogenous reprogramming at the tissue level. This work shows that key hub molecules, β-catenin and retinoic acid, regulate scale / feather fate specification gene networks, opening up new possibilities to understand the switches controlling organ phenotypes in a two component (epithelial and mesenchyme) system.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5184-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Epigenesis in developing avian scales

Cited by 27 publications

References 29 publications

A fully feathered enantiornithine foot and wing fragment preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

A fully feathered enantiornithine foot and wing fragment preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Expressed miRNAs target feather related mRNAs involved in cell signaling, cell adhesion and structure during chicken epidermal development

Transcriptome analyses of reprogrammed feather / scale chimeric explants revealed co-expressed epithelial gene networks during organ specification

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