And Β-Keratins on Developing Chicken Skin Integuments: Functional Interaction and Evolutionary Perspectives
Topographical mapping of α- and β-keratins on developing chicken skin integuments: Functional interaction and evolutionary perspectives Ping Wua,1, Chen Siang Ngb,1, Jie Yana,c, Yung-Chih Laia,d,e, Chih-Kuan Chenb,f, Yu-Ting Laib, Siao-Man Wub, Jiun-Jie Chenb, Weiqi Luoa, Randall B. Widelitza, Wen-Hsiung Lib,g,2, and Cheng-Ming Chuonga,d,e,h,2 aDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033; bBiodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan; cJiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China; dResearch Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10041, Taiwan; eIntegrative Stem Cell Center, China Medical University, Taichung 40447, Taiwan; fInstitute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan; gDepartment of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637; and hCenter for the Integrative and Evolutionary Galliform Genomics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan Contributed by Wen-Hsiung Li, October 19, 2015 (sent for review July 19, 2015; reviewed by Scott V. Edwards and Roger H. Sawyer) Avian integumentary organs include feathers, scales, claws, and innovations of feather development genes predate the origin of beaks. They cover the body surface and play various functions to feathers, suggesting that the avian dinosaur ancestor already had help adapt birds to diverse environments. These keratinized struc- the nonkeratin protein-coding toolkit for making feathers (12). α tures are mainly composed of corneous materials made of -keratins, While fewer new genes have been found in bird genomes (13) β which exist in all vertebrates, and -keratins, which only exist in birds and the α-keratin gene family has shrunk in birds relative to and reptiles.
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