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Biology
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Avian Evolution: From the Perspective of Developmental Biology
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Avian Evolution: From the Perspective of Developmental Biology

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 6898

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Susan C. Chapman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Interests: development; anatomy; evolution; embryology; patterning; morphogenesis; musculoskeletal; neurobiology; avians; mammals
Prof. Dr. Dana J. Rashid

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Interests: development; evolution; fossils; musculoskeletal; histology; avians; mammals; reptiles; tail; spine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The evolutionary transition from non-avian dinosaurs to modern birds is now being viewed in the context of developmental biology. Multiple fields are converging, providing unprecedented insights into the evolution that resulted in today’s birds. Research on feather evolution, braincase modeling, genetic macroevolution, eggshell formation, embryonic ossification patterns, and a host of avian developmental processes are linking ancestral traits to extant biology. These studies are revealing the connections between the three major groups of modern birds. Identifying whether particular features are convergent or ancestral by their respective development can infer how those groups evolved from each other and their dinosaur ancestors. A collection representing a wide range of related research has not yet been compiled.

This Special Issue on “Avian Evolution: From the Perspective of Developmental Biology” seeks to incorporate analysis of fossil specimens and related developmental mechanisms reflected in modern dinosaurs bringing this research into a powerful composite for the field.

Prof. Dr. Susan C. Chapman
Prof. Dr. Dana J. Rashid
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • development
  • evolution
  • avians
  • dinosaurs
  • fossils
  • feathers
  • musculoskeletal
  • modeling
  • limbs
  • eggs

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5642 KiB  
Article
The Two Domains of the Avian Double-β-Defensin AvBD11 Have Different Ancestors, Common with Potential Monodomain Crocodile and Turtle Defensins
by Nicolas Guyot, Céline Landon and Philippe Monget
Biology 2022, 11(5), 690; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biology11050690 - 30 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2180
Abstract
Beta-defensins are an essential group of cysteine-rich host-defence peptides involved in vertebrate innate immunity and are generally monodomain. Among bird defensins, the avian β-defensin 11 (AvBD11) is unique because of its peculiar structure composed of two β-defensin domains. The reasons for the appearance [...] Read more.
Beta-defensins are an essential group of cysteine-rich host-defence peptides involved in vertebrate innate immunity and are generally monodomain. Among bird defensins, the avian β-defensin 11 (AvBD11) is unique because of its peculiar structure composed of two β-defensin domains. The reasons for the appearance of such ‘polydefensins’ during the evolution of several, but not all branches of vertebrates, still remain an open question. In this study, we aimed at exploring the origin and evolution of the bird AvBD11 using a phylogenetic approach. Although they are homologous, the N- and C-terminal domains of AvBD11 share low protein sequence similarity and possess different cysteine spacing patterns. Interestingly, strong variations in charge properties can be observed on the C-terminal domain depending on bird species but, despite this feature, no positive selection was detected on the AvBD11 gene (neither on site nor on branches). The comparison of AvBD11 protein sequences in different bird species, however, suggests that some amino acid residues may have undergone convergent evolution. The phylogenetic tree of avian defensins revealed that each domain of AvBD11 is distant from ovodefensins (OvoDs) and may have arisen from different ancestral defensins. Strikingly, our phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that each domain of AvBD11 has common ancestors with different putative monodomain β-defensins from crocodiles and turtles and are even more closely related with these reptilian defensins than with their avian paralogs. Our findings support that AvBD11′s domains, which differ in their cysteine spacing and charge distribution, do not result from a recent internal duplication but most likely originate from a fusion of two different ancestral genes or from an ancestral double-defensin arisen before the Testudines-Archosauria split. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Avian Evolution: From the Perspective of Developmental Biology)
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20 pages, 5493 KiB  
Article
Phylogenetic Diversity of Ossification Patterns in the Avian Vertebral Column: A Review and New Data from the Domestic Pigeon and Two Species of Grebes
by Tomasz Skawiński, Piotr Kuziak, Janusz Kloskowski and Bartosz Borczyk
Biology 2022, 11(2), 180; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/biology11020180 - 24 Jan 2022
Viewed by 3510
Abstract
Despite many decades of studies, our knowledge of skeletal development in birds is limited in many aspects. One of them is the development of the vertebral column. For many years it was widely believed that the column ossifies anteroposteriorly. However, later studies indicated [...] Read more.
Despite many decades of studies, our knowledge of skeletal development in birds is limited in many aspects. One of them is the development of the vertebral column. For many years it was widely believed that the column ossifies anteroposteriorly. However, later studies indicated that such a pattern is not universal in birds and in many groups the ossification starts in the thoracic rather than cervical region. Recent analyses suggest that two loci, located in the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, were ancestrally present in birds. However, the data on skeletal development are very scarce in the Neoaves, a clade that includes approximately 95% of extant species. We review the available information about the vertebral column development in birds and describe the ossification pattern in three neoavians, the domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), the great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) and the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena). In P. cristatus, the vertebral column starts ossifying in the thoracic region. The second locus is present in the cervical vertebrae. In the pigeon, the cervical vertebrae ossify before the thoracics, but both the thoracic and cervical loci are present. Our ancestral state reconstructions confirm that both these loci were ancestrally present in birds, but the thoracic locus was later lost in psittacopasserans and at least some galloanserans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Avian Evolution: From the Perspective of Developmental Biology)
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