#biology #genetics #birds #beaks #darwin #DomesticPigeons #ROR2Gene #RobinowSyndrome

Researchers Solve Charles Darwin’s Short-Beak Enigma

Charles Darwin bred domestic pigeons (Columba livia), and in his Origin of Species described the numerous variations that had been selected by pigeon fanciers. He thought these birds held the secrets of selection in their beaks. Free from the bonds of natural selection, over 350 breeds have beaks of all shapes and sizes within a single species. The most striking are beaks so short that they sometimes prevent parents from feeding their own young. In a new study, biologists discovered that a mutation in the ROR2 gene is linked to beak size reduction domestic pigeons; surprisingly, mutations in this gene also underlie a human disorder called Robinow syndrome.

http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/charles-darwins-short-beak-enigma-10086.html