Overview

• Feathers evolved from simple proto-feathers in certain dinosaurs around 200 million years ago, initially serving for insulation and ornamentation.
• The Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway is critical in feather development, influencing both ancestral and modern feather forms.
• Researchers at the University of Geneva recreated primitive proto-feather-like structures in chicken embryos by inhibiting the Shh pathway during development.
• Despite disruptions to the Shh pathway, feather development in chicken embryos demonstrated remarkable resilience, with normal plumage eventually forming.
• The findings, published in PLOS Biology, provide insights into the genetic mechanisms of feather evolution and the robustness of evolved genetic networks.