Environmental conditions encountered by migratory seabirds in their wintering areas can shape their fitness. However, the underlying physiological mechanisms remain largely unknown as birds are relatively inaccessible during winter. To assess physiological condition during this period, we measured corticosterone concentrations in winter-grown primary feathers of female great skuas (Stercorarius...

The potential relationship of cell adhesion to embryonic induction during feather formation was examined by immunohistochemical analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of three cell-adhesion molecules (CAMs), neural CAM (N-CAM), liver CAM (L-CAM), and neuron-glia CAM (Ng-CAM), and of substrate molecules (laminin and fibronectin) in embryonic chicken skin. The N-CAM found at sites of embryon...

A complex three-dimensional (3D) feather-like AlN nanostructure was synthesized by a direct reaction of high-purity Al granules with nitrogen using an arc discharge method. By adjusting the discharge time, a coral-like nanostructure, which evolved from the feather-like nanostructure, has also been observed. The novel 3D feather-like AlN nanostructure has a hierarchical dendritic structure, whic...

This study investigated the use of waste chicken feather (barbs and rachis) as reinforcement in cement-bonded composites. A series of composite boards consisting of various proportions of waste feather, cement, sand, and chemical admixtures were prepared. Mix workability decreased significantly as the proportion by weight of feathers or ground feathers increased from 5% to 20%. Boards containin...

Morphogenesis of hairs and feathers is initiated by an as yet unknown dermal signal that induces placode formation in the overlying ectoderm. To determine whether FGF signals are required for this process we over-expressed soluble versions of FGFR1 or FGFR2 in the skin of chicken embryos. This produced a complete failure of feather formation prior to any morphological or molecular signs of plac...

Feathers are formed following a series of reciprocal signals between the epithelium and the mesenchyme. Initially, the formation of a dense dermis leads to the induction of a placode in the overlying ectoderm. The ectoderm subsequently signals back to the dermis to promote cell division. Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is a secreted protein expressed in the ectoderm that has previously been implicated in ...

Antimicrobials used in poultry production have the potential to bioaccumulate in poultry feathers but available data are scarce. Following poultry slaughter, feathers are converted by rendering into feather meal and sold as fertilizer and animal feed, thereby providing a potential pathway for reentry of drugs into the human food supply. We analyzed feather meal (n = 12 samples) for 59 pharmaceu...

Sonic hedgehog is involved in vertebrate tissue interactions during development. During early feather development, Sonic hedgehog appears very early in epithelial placodes. During late feather development, Sonic hedgehog expression precedes the development of the marginal plates and is specifically localized in the marginal plate epithelium, which will later undergo cell death. By using retrovi...

Feathers have complex forms and are an excellent model to study the development and evolution of morphologies. Existing chicken feather mutants are especially useful for identifying genetic determinants of feather formation. This study focused on the gene F, underlying the frizzle feather trait that has a characteristic curled feather rachis and barbs in domestic chickens. Our developmental bio...

Blocks of 12.5- or 13.5-day embryonic mouse upper-lip dermis were introduced under the ectoderm of the extra-embryonic area of 2- to 3-day chick or duck embryos. Two kinds of ectopic cutaneous appendages were produced: either arrested feathers alone, or arrested feathers and full-grown feathers. The former developed in the ectoderm overlying the implanted mouse dermal cells, the latter formed i...