How to tweak a beak: molecular techniques for studying the evolution of size and shape in Darwin's finches and other birds.
A flurry of technological advances in molecular, cellular and developmental biology during the past decade has provided a clearer understanding of mechanisms underlying phenotypic diversification. Building upon such momentum, a recent paper tackles one of the foremost topics in evolution, that is the origin of species-specific beak morphology in Darwin's finches.1 Previous work involving both domesticated and wild birds implicated a well-known signaling pathway (i.e. bone morphogenetic proteins) and one population of progenitor cells in particular (i.e. cranial neural crest), as primary factors for establishing beak size and shape. But these results were limited in their ability to explain fully the morphogenetic bases of patterned outgrowth. So in a quest to identify novel genes whose expression correlated with differences in beak anatomy among Darwin's finches, a DNA microarray approach was undertaken using tissues harvested from the Galápagos Islands. The results are striking and point to a protein called calmodulin, which is a mediator of cellular calcium signaling, as a key determinant of beak length.
Schneider
Richard A
RA
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California at San Francisco, 533 Parnassus Avenue, U-453, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. rich.schneider@ucsf.edu
D000818:Animals; D001502:Beak / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000235:genetics; D004484:Ecuador; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D046369:Finches / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D023281:Genomics; D013045:Species Specificity
D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D002147:Calmodulin