リファレンス
Bmp4 and morphological variation of beaks in Darwin's finches.
Abzhanov, A., Protas, M., Grant, B. R., Grant, P. R., & Tabin, C. J. (2004). Science, 305(5689), 1462-1465.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/305/5689/1462.abstract
要旨
Darwin's finches are a classic example of species diversification by natural selection. Their impressive variation in beak morphology is associated with the exploitation of a variety of ecological niches, but its developmental basis is unknown. We performed a comparative analysis of expression patterns of various growth factors in species comprising the genus Geospiza. We found that expression of Bmp4 in the mesenchyme of the upper beaks strongly correlated with deep and broad beak morphology. When misexpressed in chicken embryos, Bmp4 caused morphological transformations paralleling the beak morphology of the large ground finch G. magnirostris.
コメント
ダーウィンフィンチの論文．BMPが形態の差異に大きく寄与していることは知識としては知っていたが，しっかり論文を読んだことはなかったので，改めて手法や結果などを見るとストーリーもわかりやすくてとても参考になった．今後似たような流れでやる研究も考えているので，関連文献ももっと当たっておきたいな．
