Cellular and Developmental Basis of Avian Structural Coloration

TL;DR

This review explores the development of avian structural colors, focusing on feather nanostructures formed by self-assembly, and highlights future research directions for understanding mechanisms and bioinspired material design.

Contribution

It synthesizes current knowledge on the development of bird structural colors and identifies key gaps and future research avenues.

Findings

Feather nanostructures are formed by intracellular self-assembly.

Structural colors are produced by photonic nanostructures in skin and feathers.

Future research can enhance bioinspired material engineering.

Abstract

Vivid structural colors in birds are a conspicuous and vital part of their phenotype. They are produced by a rich diversity of integumentary photonic nanostructures in skin and feathers. Unlike pigmentary coloration, whose molecular genetic basis is being elucidated, little is known regarding the pathways underpinning organismal structural coloration. Here, we review available data on the development of avian structural colors. In particular, feather photonic nanostructures are understood to be intracellularly self-assembled by physicochemical forces typically seen in soft colloidal systems. We identify promising avenues for future research that can address current knowledge gaps, which is also highly relevant for the sustainable engineering of advanced bioinspired and biomimetic materials.