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A conserved molecular template underlies color pattern diversity in estrildid finches

The color patterns that adorn animals’ coats not only exhibit extensive diversity linked to various ecological functions but also display recurrences in geometry, orientation, or body location. How processes of pattern formation shape such phenotypic trends remains a mystery. Here, we surveyed pluma...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hidalgo, Magdalena, Curantz, Camille, Quenech’Du, Nicole, Neguer, Julia, Beck, Samantha, Mohammad, Ammara, Manceau, Marie
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9432839/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36044564
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm5800
Descripción
Sumario:The color patterns that adorn animals’ coats not only exhibit extensive diversity linked to various ecological functions but also display recurrences in geometry, orientation, or body location. How processes of pattern formation shape such phenotypic trends remains a mystery. Here, we surveyed plumage color patterns in passerine finches displaying extreme apparent variation and identified a conserved set of color domains. We linked these domains to putative embryonic skin regions instructed by early developmental tissues and outlined by the combinatory expression of few genetic markers. We found that this embryonic prepattern is largely conserved in birds displaying drastic color differences in the adult, interspecies variation resulting from the masking or display of each domain depending on their coloration. This work showed that a simple molecular landscape serves as common spatial template to extensive color pattern variation in finches, revealing that early conserved landmarks and molecular pathways are a major cause of phenotypic trends.