Authors: Shu-Man Hsieh Li, Ya-Chen Liang, Ting-Xin Jiang, Wen Chien Jea, Chih-Kuan Chen, Jiayi Lu, Daniel Núñez-León, Zhou Yu, Yung-Chih Lai, Randall B. Widelitz, Leif Andersson, Ping Wu, Cheng-Ming Chuong
Published: 2025-03-21
Source: Full article
The integument plays a critical role in functional adaptation, with macro-regional specification forming structures like beaks, combs, feathers, and scales, while micro-regional specification modifies skin appendage shapes. However, the molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Craniofacial integument displays dramatic diversity, exemplified by the Polish chicken (PC) with a homeotic transformation of comb-to-crest feathers, caused by a 195–base pair (bp) duplication in