Flores-Santin Josele, Burggren Warren W
Facultad de Ciencias, Biologia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico, Toluca, Mexico.
Developmental Integrative Biology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas Denton, Denton, TX, United States.
Front Physiol. 2021 Oct 21;12:712633. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.712633. eCollection 2021.
Biomedical research focusing on physiological, morphological, behavioral, and other aspects of development has long depended upon the chicken () as a key animal model that is presumed to be typical of birds and generally applicable to mammals. Yet, the modern chicken in its many forms is the result of artificial selection more intense than almost any other domesticated animal. A consequence of great variation in genotype and phenotype is that some breeds have inherent aberrant physiological and morphological traits that may show up relatively early in development (e.g., hypertension, hyperglycemia, and limb defects in the broiler chickens). While such traits can be useful as models of specific diseases, this high degree of specialization can color general experimental results and affect their translational value. Against this background, in this review we first consider the characteristics that make an animal model attractive for developmental research (e.g., accessibility, ease of rearing, size, fecundity, development rates, genetic variation, etc.). We then explore opportunities presented by the embryo to adult continuum of alternative bird models, including quail, ratites, songbirds, birds of prey, and corvids. We conclude by indicating that expanding developmental studies beyond the chicken model to include additional avian groups will both validate the chicken model as well as potentially identify even more suitable avian models for answering questions applicable to both basic biology and the human condition.
长期以来，聚焦于发育的生理、形态、行为及其他方面的生物医学研究一直依赖于鸡（）作为关键动物模型，该模型被认为是鸟类的典型代表，且通常适用于哺乳动物。然而，现代的各种鸡是人工选择的结果，其强度比几乎任何其他家养动物都要大。基因型和表型存在巨大差异的一个后果是，一些品种具有固有的异常生理和形态特征，这些特征可能在发育相对早期就会显现出来（例如，肉鸡的高血压、高血糖和肢体缺陷）。虽然这些特征可作为特定疾病的模型，但这种高度的专业化可能会影响一般实验结果并降低其转化价值。在此背景下，在本综述中，我们首先考虑使动物模型对发育研究具有吸引力的特征（例如，可操作性、易于饲养、体型、繁殖力、发育速度、遗传变异等）。然后，我们探讨了从胚胎到成体的连续过程中，包括鹌鹑、平胸鸟、鸣禽、猛禽和鸦科鸟类等替代鸟类模型所带来的机遇。我们在结论中指出，将发育研究从鸡模型扩展到包括更多鸟类群体，既能验证鸡模型，也有可能识别出更适合回答适用于基础生物学和人类状况问题的鸟类模型。
