‘Sonic Hedgehog Pathway’ Underlies Evolutionary Emergence and Diversity of Feathers, Study Suggests

Mar 20, 2025 - 17:15
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‘Sonic Hedgehog Pathway’ Underlies Evolutionary Emergence and Diversity of Feathers, Study Suggests
Cooper & Milinkovitch demonstrate that an intravenous injection of sonidegib, a potent Shh pathway inhibitor, at embryonic day 9 (E9) temporarily produces striped domains (instead of spots) of Shh expression in the skin, arrests morphogenesis, and results in unbranched and non-invaginated feather buds -- akin to proto-feathers -- in embryos until E14. Image credit: Fabrice Berger & Michel Milinkovitch.

According to a new study by University of Geneva scientists, inhibiting one such system, called the sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway, strongly perturbs feather development in chickens by restricting feather bud outgrowth, invagination and branching.

The post ‘Sonic Hedgehog Pathway’ Underlies Evolutionary Emergence and Diversity of Feathers, Study Suggests appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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