Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is known to be involved in multiple inductive events during embryogenesis including the development of amniote skin. Here, we demonstrate that early application of BMP-2 to the lateral trunk of chick embryos induces the formation of dense dermis, which is competent to participate in feather development. We show that BMPs induce the dermis markers Msx-1...

Nanocrystalline Al–Mg dendrites were fabricated through galvanostatic electrodeposition. Initially feather-like morphology was formed exhibiting morphological evolution to smooth globules at its tips. With eventual deposition, rough globules formed over the smooth ones. The feather-like and smooth globules possessed supersaturated face centered cubic (fcc)–Al(Mg) phase with ~7 and ~20 at.% Mg r...

creating the hair. FGFs, BMPs, and Shh are secreted proteins whose binding to receptors on susceptible cells triggers signal transduction changes and transcription Hairs in mammals and feathers in birds are two of the of target genes. Notch receptor, in contrast, is activated smallest and most fascinating organs in the body. These by membrane-bound ligands such as Delta-1 on the keratinized ski...

Figure 9 summarizes the morphogenetic process of feather and hair. Hair of feathers are formed from a layer of homogeneously distributed mesenchymal cells. The mesenchymal cells start to condense to form foci in response to some unidentified induction signal (Fig. 9B). Several adhesion molecules, including L-CAM, N-CAM, integrin, tenascin, as well as proteoglycan, are involved. These adhesion m...

Novel composites between cellulose (CEL) and keratin (KER) from three different sources (wool, hair and chicken feather) were successfully synthesized in a simple one-step process in which butylmethylimidazolium chloride (BMIm+Cl−), an ionic liquid, was used as the sole solvent. The method is green and recyclable because [BMIm+Cl−] used was recovered for reuse. Spectroscopy (FTIR, XRD) and imag...

Adaptation of feathered dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds to new ecological niches was potentiated by rapid diversification of feather vane shapes. The molecular mechanism driving this spectacular process remains unclear. Here, through morphology analysis, transcriptome profiling, functional perturbations and mathematical simulations, we find that mesenchyme-derived GDF10 and GREM1 are major control...

The formation of skin appendages represents a morphogenetic process through which a homogeneous system is converted into a patterned system. We have pursued molecules involved in the early placode induction and mesenchymal condensation stages of this process. We found that intracellular and extracellular signaling molecules collaborate to position the location of feather primordia and initiate ...

Feathers, unlike other cutaneous appendages such as hair, fur, or scales have a definite structure. Variation in feather structure creates a wide range of resulting appearances. Collectively, feather structure determines the appearance of the feather coat, which can largely affect the resulting look of a feathered object (bird). In this paper we define the structure of individual feathers using...