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Animal scales can be turned into feathers by modifying only a few genes

The method the researchers used worked, and when the chicks hatched, their legs were covered in fluffy young feathers; Just like the feathers on other parts of their body. These feathers grew at the same time as the chickens grew.

The chicks that hatched lost their feathers and instead grew mature feathers not only on their bodies but also on their legs. Only one change on the eggs was enough to make such a change from scales to feathers.

The chicks born in the experiment had normal legs. RNA sequencing by comparing the two groups also showed that the changes made on the hedgehog sonic gene were permanent in the experimental group.

According to the researchers, these results contribute to our understanding of how animals evolve and diversify. Natural changes in hedgehog sonic messaging are probably an evolutionary stimulus for the diversity of skin appendages such as feathers and scales, and achieving this diversity is not a difficult task.

Describing the experiment’s findings, Milinkovic says, “The results show that an evolutionary jump from scales to feathers does not require many changes in the composition or appearance of the genome. “Instead, a temporary change in the expression of a gene (Shh) can lead to a series of evolutionary events that result in the formation of feathers instead of scales.”

This study in the publication Science Advances It has been published.


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