Project description:A comparative profile of miRNAs in pectoral muscle during pigeon development was performed by using high-throughput sequencing. We identified known pigeon miRNAs, novel miRNAs, and miRNAs that are conserved in other birds and mammals.Our results expanded the repertoire of pigeon miRNAs and may be of help in better understanding the mechanism of squab’s rapid development.
Project description:A comparative profile of miRNAs in livers during pigeon development was performed by using high-throughput sequencing. We identified known pigeon miRNAs, novel miRNAs, and miRNAs that are conserved in other birds and mammals.Our results expanded the repertoire of pigeon miRNAs and may be of help in better understanding the mechanism of squab’s rapid development from the perspective of liver development.
Project description:The macula and fovea located at the optical centre of the retina make primate visual perception unique among mammals. Pigeon retina and the human macula share a number of structural and functional properties that justify introducing the former as a new model system for retina development. Comparative transcriptome analysis of the pigeon and chicken retinas at different embryonic stages was undertaken to uncover how transcriptomic patterns translate into functional differences between the two bird species. The study showed that the pigeon’s genetic programs underlying cell differentiation are postponed until the end of the period of cell proliferation. This allows the pigeon to build a retina that displays the structural and functional traits typical of primate macula and fovea.