Institute for Genomic Biology, 1206 W. Gregory Ave, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Curr Biol. 2009 Sep 29;19(18):R865-73. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.07.006.
Songbirds share some essential traits but are extraordinarily diverse, allowing comparative analyses aimed at identifying specific genotype-phenotype associations. This diversity encompasses traits like vocal communication and complex social behaviors that are of great interest to humans, but that are not well represented in other accessible research organisms. Many songbirds are readily observable in nature and thus afford unique insight into the links between environment and organism. The distinctive organization of the songbird brain will facilitate analysis of genomic links to brain and behavior. Access to the zebra finch genome sequence will, therefore, prompt new questions and provide the ability to answer those questions.
鸣禽具有一些重要的特征，但也非常多样化，这使得我们可以进行比较分析，以确定特定的基因型-表型关联。这种多样性包括了鸣禽在声音交流和复杂的社会行为等方面的特征，这些特征引起了人类的极大兴趣，但在其他易于研究的生物中却没有很好地体现。许多鸣禽在自然界中很容易被观察到，因此为我们提供了一个独特的视角，了解环境和生物之间的联系。鸣禽大脑的独特组织将有助于分析基因组与大脑和行为之间的联系。因此，获得斑胸草雀的基因组序列将引发新的问题，并提供回答这些问题的能力。
