In a previous study, they discovered that stimulating the Shh pathway in chicken embryos could transform scales into feathers. Now, they wanted to see what would happen if they inhibited it.
‘‘Since the Shh pathway plays a crucial role in feather development, we wanted to observe what happens when it is inhibited,’’ said Rory Cooper, a postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the study.
In this new study, the team caused chicken feathers to develop in a more primitive, proto-feather-like form by inhibiting a gene during embryonic development.