Genomic diversity and evolution of the head crest in the rock pigeon

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  • Michael D. Shapiro
  • Zev Kronenberg
  • Cai Li
  • Eric T. Domyan
  • Hailin Pan
  • Michael Campbell
  • Hao Tan
  • Chad D. Huff
  • Haofu Hu
  • Anna I. Vickrey
  • Sandra Cathrine Abel Nielsen
  • Sydney A. Stringham
  • Hao Hu
  • Willerslev, Eske
  • Gilbert, Tom
  • Mark Yandell
  • Guojie Zhang
  • Jun Wang
The geographic origins of breeds and the genetic basis of variation within the widely distributed and phenotypically diverse domestic rock pigeon (Columba livia) remain largely unknown. We generated a rock pigeon reference genome and additional genome sequences representing domestic and feral populations. We found evidence for the origins of major breed groups in the Middle East and contributions from a racing breed to North American feral populations. We identified the gene EphB2 as a strong candidate for the derived head crest phenotype shared by numerous breeds, an important trait in mate selection in many avian species. We also found evidence that this trait evolved just once and spread throughout the species, and that the crest originates early in development by the localized molecular reversal of feather bud polarity.
Original languageEnglish
JournalScience
Volume339
Issue number6123
Pages (from-to)1063-1067
Number of pages5
ISSN0036-8075
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2013

    Research areas

  • Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Animals, Domestic, Animals, Wild, Breeding, Columbidae, Evolution, Molecular, Feathers, Genetic Variation, Genome, Head, Models, Genetic, Molecular Sequence Data, Phylogeny, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Receptor, EphB2, Sequence Analysis, DNA

ID: 48847892