Michael Shapiro and Eric Domyan are giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “birds of a feather flock together.”
Shapiro, a U biology professor, and Domyan, a biology postdoctoral student, study the variations in the feather colors of pigeons. Their current study investigates what genes cause the different colors, ranging from red to black, and what this causation could mean for further studies.
“If we can better understand how these genes interact … we can start to see how most diseases in other animals, including humans, is not just one genetic change,” Shapiro says.
Shapiro and Domyan spent years gathering and analyzing data from approximately 40 pigeons from local pigeon breeders. Domyan says the main goal was to show how DNA causes the traits with diversity in color. He used Darwin’s writing as an example for selection.
He said he was also advised by colleagues to consider using pigeons for these variation studies, after first using a species of fish.
“You could use different kinds of birds to try to compare variations, like the beaks of an owl and a toucan,” Shapiro says. “Pigeons have extreme differences, but are similar enough to easily understand those specific genetic variations.”
Shapiro says his study is all thanks to the pigeon breeders that helped provide the specimens. He says he and Domyan were “indebted” for their services.
Domyan says he was interested in working on the study because pigeons serve as a great model for natural variations with their multiple breeds.
“I have always been fascinated by the variations in nature,” Domyan says.
Cecily Bader, a freshman in biology, says she had only heard a little about the study, but she is interested in learning more.
“It is really interesting research,” she says.
Shapiro says the overarching goals of the study are to discover diversity and disease within the pigeon species. Further research is being done on these studies of variation to illuminate similar gene patterns in other species.
He says his laboratory also benefits from undergraduate research.
“They make substantial contributions to our studies,” Shapiro says.
Bader hopes to see these kind of studies more accessible to all students.
“Cell biology really interests me, especially when it relates to genes in some species to genes in others, like this one,” Bader says.