Molecular Experiment Reverses
Evolution in Birds, Obtaining a
Dinosaur-like Lower Leg
Universidad de Chile, March 7, 2016 0
Any one that has eaten roasted chicken can account for the presence in the drumstick (lower leg) of a long, spine-like bone. This is actually the fibula, one of the two long bones of the lower leg (the outer one). In dinosaurs, which are the ancestors of birds, this bone is tube-shaped and reaches all the way down to the ankle. However, in the evolution from dinosaurs to birds, it lost its lower end, and no longer connects to the ankle, being shorter than the other bone in the lower leg, the tibia. Already in the XIXth century, scientists had noted that bird embryos first develop a tubular, dinosaur-like fibula. Only afterwards, it becomes shorter than the tibia and acquires its adult, splinter-like shape.
Brazilian researcher Joâo Botelho, working at the lab of Alexander Vargas (University of Chile
Botelho and collaborators believe that early maturation at the lower end of the fibula occurs because of the influence of a nearby bone in the ankle, the calcaneum. Unlike other animals, the calcaneum in bird embryos presses against the lower end of the fibula: They are so close they have even been confused with a single element by some researchers. Botelho proposes that at this stage, the lower end of the fibula receives signals more like those at the bone shaft. In normal development, the calcaneum then becomes detached from the fibula. However, its distal end has already become committed to shaft-like development, and matures early. In the chickens with experimentally dinosaur-like lower legs, the calcaneum was still attached to the fibula. Botelho also confirmed the calcaneum strongly expresses PthrP, a gene that allows growth at the ends of bones.
Another interesting observation in the experimental chickens was that the other bone of the lower leg, the tibia, was significantly shorter. This suggests that a dinosaur-like fibula connected to the ankle stops the tibia from outgrowing the fibula, as it would normally do. Working with Jingmai O’Connor (IVPP,China
The results of the entire study have been published this week in the renowned academic journal Evolution . This is the second time Botelho has achieved an experimental reversal to a dinosaur-like trait in birds. Previously, he had managed to undo the evolution of the perching toe of birds, to produce a non-twisted, non-opposed toe, as in dinosaurs (dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep09840) and another lab at Yale obtained a dinosaur-like snout by altering gene expression in embryonic chickens (dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12684). However, these studies are not aimed to producing dinosaurs for commercial or non-scientific purposes, as in the “Jurassic Park
“The experiments are focused on single traits, to test specific hypotheses” says Vargas. “Not only do we know a great deal about bird development, but also about the dinosaur-bird transition, which is well-documented by the fossil record. This leads naturally to hypotheses on the evolution of development, that can be explored in the lab.”
Evolution in Birds, Obtaining a
Dinosaur-like Lower Leg
Universidad de Chile, March 7, 2016 0
Any one that has eaten roasted chicken can account for the presence in the drumstick (lower leg) of a long, spine-like bone. This is actually the fibula, one of the two long bones of the lower leg (the outer one). In dinosaurs, which are the ancestors of birds, this bone is tube-shaped and reaches all the way down to the ankle. However, in the evolution from dinosaurs to birds, it lost its lower end, and no longer connects to the ankle, being shorter than the other bone in the lower leg, the tibia. Already in the XIXth century, scientists had noted that bird embryos first develop a tubular, dinosaur-like fibula. Only afterwards, it becomes shorter than the tibia and acquires its adult, splinter-like shape.
Brazilian researcher Joâo Botelho, working at the lab of Alexander Vargas (
Botelho and collaborators believe that early maturation at the lower end of the fibula occurs because of the influence of a nearby bone in the ankle, the calcaneum. Unlike other animals, the calcaneum in bird embryos presses against the lower end of the fibula: They are so close they have even been confused with a single element by some researchers. Botelho proposes that at this stage, the lower end of the fibula receives signals more like those at the bone shaft. In normal development, the calcaneum then becomes detached from the fibula. However, its distal end has already become committed to shaft-like development, and matures early. In the chickens with experimentally dinosaur-like lower legs, the calcaneum was still attached to the fibula. Botelho also confirmed the calcaneum strongly expresses PthrP, a gene that allows growth at the ends of bones.
Another interesting observation in the experimental chickens was that the other bone of the lower leg, the tibia, was significantly shorter. This suggests that a dinosaur-like fibula connected to the ankle stops the tibia from outgrowing the fibula, as it would normally do. Working with Jingmai O’Connor (IVPP,
The results of the entire study have been published this week in the renowned academic journal Evolution . This is the second time Botelho has achieved an experimental reversal to a dinosaur-like trait in birds. Previously, he had managed to undo the evolution of the perching toe of birds, to produce a non-twisted, non-opposed toe, as in dinosaurs (dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep09840) and another lab at Yale obtained a dinosaur-like snout by altering gene expression in embryonic chickens (dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12684). However, these studies are not aimed to producing dinosaurs for commercial or non-scientific purposes, as in the “
“The experiments are focused on single traits, to test specific hypotheses” says Vargas. “Not only do we know a great deal about bird development, but also about the dinosaur-bird transition, which is well-documented by the fossil record. This leads naturally to hypotheses on the evolution of development, that can be explored in the lab.”
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