Bmp4 and morphological variation of beaks in Darwin's finches.
Darwin's finches are a classic example of species diversification by natural selection. Their impressive variation in beak morphology is associated with the exploitation of a variety of ecological niches, but its developmental basis is unknown. We performed a comparative analysis of expression patterns of various growth factors in species comprising the genus Geospiza. We found that expression of Bmp4 in the mesenchyme of the upper beaks strongly correlated with deep and broad beak morphology. When misexpressed in chicken embryos, Bmp4 caused morphological transformations paralleling the beak morphology of the large ground finch G. magnirostris.
Abzhanov
Arhat
A
Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Protas
Meredith
M
Grant
B Rosemary
BR
Grant
Peter R
PR
Tabin
Clifford J
CJ
D000818:Animals; D001502:Beak / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000378:metabolism; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000378:metabolism; D009024:Morphogenesis; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020308:Songbirds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity
D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D006133:Growth Substances