Feather development genes and associated regulatory innovation predate the origin of Dinosauria.
Abstract
The evolution of avian feathers has recently been illuminated by fossils and the identification
of genes involved in feather patterning and morphogenesis. However, molecular studies
have focused mainly on protein-coding genes. Using comparative genomics and more than
600,000 conserved regulatory elements, we show that patterns of genome evolution in
the vicinity of feather genes are consistent with a major role for regulatory innovation
in the evolution of feathers. Rates of innovation at feather regulatory elements exhibit
an extended period of innovation with peaks in the ancestors of amniotes and archosaurs.
We estimate that 86% of such regulatory elements and 100% of the nonkeratin feather
gene set were present prior to the origin of Dinosauria. On the branch leading to
modern birds, we detect a strong signal of regulatory innovation near insulin-like
growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) 2 and IGFBP5, which have roles in body size
reduction, and may represent a genomic signature for the miniaturization of dinosaurian
body size preceding the origin of flight.
Type
Journal articleSubject
FeathersAnimals
Birds
Dinosaurs
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 2
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 5
Body Size
Genomics
Evolution, Molecular
Phylogeny
Regulatory Elements, Transcriptional
Keratins
Biological Evolution
Mutation Rate
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17411Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1093/molbev/msu309Publication Info
Lowe, Craig B; Clarke, Julia A; Baker, Allan J; Haussler, David; & Edwards, Scott
V (2015). Feather development genes and associated regulatory innovation predate the origin
of Dinosauria. Molecular biology and evolution, 32(1). pp. 23-28. 10.1093/molbev/msu309. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/17411.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Craig Lowe
Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info