Abstract
The highly organized morphogenesis of bird feathers holds important phylo- and ontogenetic information on the evolution of birds, organogenesis, tissue regeneration, and the health status of individual animals. Altered topobiological patterns are regularly used as retrospective evidence for disturbed developmental trajectories due to the past exposure to environmental stressors. Using the most advanced high-resolution (5–70 µm) X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM), we describe in the feathers from three species of Procellariiformes hitherto unknown, depositions of elements (Zn, Ca, Br, Cu, Fe) that are independent of pigmentation or any underlying variation in density or polymer structure. In the case of Zn, the pattern across several species of Procellariiformes, but not other species, consisted of highly regular bands of Zn numbering 30–32, which may reflect the estimated number of days of active feather growth or the duration of the moult period. Thus, speculatively, the highly consistent Zn pattern might be the result of a so far unknown diurnal systemic regulation rather than local heterogeneity amongst the follicular stem cells.
Highlights
The intricate structural, cellular and molecular patterns observed during the growth of bird feathers provide important insight into the phylogenesis of birds, as well as the fundamental biological processes that govern organogenesis and regeneration
Pattern formation during feather growth may be the result of a pre-existing heterogeneity amongst stem cells or may reflect oscillations of systemic levels as the result of a physiological process, such as sleep/wake, feed cycle or periodic renal clearance (Fig. 2)
Using a similar technical approach, it has been shown that a previously undescribed strontium distribution in shark vertebrae correlates with the age of the individual and allows for age assessment to be conducted in species where visual assessment of growth bands was not possible[5]
Summary
The intricate structural, cellular and molecular patterns observed during the growth of bird feathers provide important insight into the phylogenesis of birds, as well as the fundamental biological processes that govern organogenesis and regeneration. Using a similar technical approach, it has been shown that a previously undescribed strontium distribution in shark vertebrae correlates with the age of the individual and allows for age assessment to be conducted in species where visual assessment of growth bands was not possible[5]. These newly discovered growth patterns in feathers are expected to have practical utility in the retrospective, time-stamped assessment of animal health and its relationship to environmental stressors[6]
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