Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41120403›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Sexually dimorphic sail feathers in the Mandarin duck as a model for lifelong developmental modulation.

Pin-Chi Tang, Hsu-Chen Cheng, Gee-Way Lin, Yung-Chih Lai, Ya-Chen Liang, Ping Wu, Tzu-Chiao Lin, Chen Siang Ng, Isheng Jason Tsai, Ang Li and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Pin-Chi TangDepartment of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402202, Taiwan.
Hsu-Chen ChengThe iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402202, Taiwan.
Gee-Way LinDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Yung-Chih LaiInstitute of Translational Medicine and New Drug Development, China Medical University, Taichung, 404328, Taiwan.
Ya-Chen LiangDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Ping WuDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Tzu-Chiao LinDepartment of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402202, Taiwan.
Chen Siang NgInstitute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.
Isheng Jason TsaiBiodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan.
Ang LiDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Wen Hsiung LiBiodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115201, Taiwan.
Chih-Feng ChenDepartment of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402202, Taiwan.
Cheng-Ming ChuongDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA. cmchuong@med.usc.edu.
Randall WidelitzDepartment of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA. widelitz@med.usc.edu.

Funding

Size regulation of skin appendagesR01AR047364 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Cheng-Ming Chuong · 2002 to 2026
$10.1M
Tissue Patterning in living skin and organ explantsR37AR060306 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Cheng-Ming Chuong · 2020 to 2026
$3.6M
Channel activity during skin morphogenesisR01AR078050 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI CHOW, ROBERT HSIU-PING, CHUONG, CHENG-MING · 2021 to 2025
$1.8M
Intra- and inter-cluster regulations of multiplex gene clustersR35GM150714 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Ya-Chen Liang · 2023 to 2026
$1.6M
Multi-scale modulation of organ adaptationR35GM153402 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Cheng-Ming Chuong · 2024 to 2026
$1.2M
Ministry of Education 107-S-0023-HMinistry of Science and Technology, Taiwan 103-2313-B-005-042-MY3NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR047364NIAMS NIH HHS R01AR047364NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR078050NIAMS NIH HHS R01AR078050NIAMS NIH HHS R37 AR060306NIAMS NIH HHS R37AR060306NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM150714NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM153402NIGMS NIH HHS R35GM153402
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Developmental processes extend beyond embryogenesis to support lifelong tissue adaptations. Avian feather follicles, with their resident stem cells and capacity for cyclic regeneration, provide a dynamic model for postnatal tissue remodeling. Here, we propose the Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) as an ideal model to study lifelong developmental modulation, focusing on the sexually dimorphic "sail feather"-a secondary flight feather in males that undergoes seasonal transformation into a strikingly asymmetric, ornamented phenotype during the breeding season. We identified asymmetric morphogen expression in regenerating male sail feathers and used transcriptome and H3K27ac ChIP-seq to uncover male and female signaling pathways and regulatory elements. Comparative epigenomic profiling reveals enriched estrogen receptor binding motifs in females. Hormone profiling shows seasonal variation, with a marked rise in female estrogen levels preceding the mating season. These results imply Mandarin duck sail feathers integrate local morphogenetic programs, epigenetic regulation, and systemic hormonal cues to orchestrate sexually dimorphic and seasonally dynamic feather morphogenesis. This work establishes a framework for further mechanistic study of the interplay between regeneration, regional identity, and hormonal plasticity in a vertebrate integumentary system.

Indexed as

DucksFeathersGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalSex CharacteristicsAnimalsChromatin Immunoprecipitation SequencingColorEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHistonesMaleSeasonsTranscriptomeHistonesAndrogenEstrogenFeather colorsFeather cyclingFeather formsMorphogenesisSeasonal variationSex hormonesStem cells

Identifiers

PMID41120403
PMCPMC12540880

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.