The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
BACTERIAL DEGRADATION OF BLACK AND WHITE FEATHERS
Abstract
Abstract When feather-degrading Bacillus licheniformis is grown in culture, it secretes a keratinase that hydrolyzes the β-keratin matrix of a feather, thereby releasing oligopeptides that dissolve into the medium surrounding the feather and feather-degrading bacilli. These peptides absorb light passed through a sample of medium from which feather fragments, melanin granules, and bacteria have been removed by centrifugation. Samples of medium in which white, nonmelanic feathers are degrading absorb more light than samples of medium in which black, melanic feathers are degrading, which indicates that more oligopeptides are dissolved in medium surrounding white feathers than in medium surrounding black feathers. The differential absorption of light supports the conclusion that B. licheniformis degrades white feathers more rapidly than black feathers.
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“Similarly, in modern birds, melanins confer protection against feather-degrading bacteria that flourish in humid habitats 4,33,34 , but it is uncertain whether the dry climate of the Jurassic Solnhofen 1,35 would have provided sufficient evolutionary pressure to select for such an adaptation.”
From New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather (2012) · cites this paper as [34]
Citations
Cites
Isolation, Identification, and Characterization of a Feather-Degrading Bacterium
Williams, C. M., Richter, C. S., Mackenzie, J., & Shih, J. C. H. (1990) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.56.6.1509-1515.1990 · Cited by 351
Occurrence of Feather-Degrading Bacilli in the Plumage of Birds
Burtt, E. H. (1999) · The Auk · doi:10.2307/4089371 · Cited by 252
GLOGER'S RULE, FEATHER-DEGRADING BACTERIA, AND COLOR VARIATION AMONG SONG SPARROWS
Burtt, E. H., & Ichida, J. M. (2004) · Ornithological Applications · doi:10.1650/7383 · Cited by 251
Self-citationMelanin and the Abrasion Resistance of Feathers
(1995) · The Condor · doi:10.2307/1369048 · Cited by 237
Das Abändern der Vögel durch Einfluss des Klima's
Gloger, C. W. L. (1833) · doi:10.5962/bhl.title.50395 · Cited by 225
Burtt (1986) · Ornithological Monographs · doi:10.2307/40166782 · Cited by 130
Burtt, J., & Edward, H. (1986) · Cited by 124
The Adaptiveness of Animal Colors
Burtt, E. H. (1981) · BioScience · doi:10.2307/1308778 · Cited by 117
(1966) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 100
The Structure of Feather Rachis Keratin
Pauling, L. C., & Corey, R. B. (1951) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.37.5.256 · Cited by 65
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Burkhardt-Holm, 1997, Journal of Fish Biology, 50, 744, 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1997.tb01969.x · DOI
- Burtt, 2000, Ohio Birds and Natural History, 2, 47
- Zink, 1986, Current Ornithology, 4, 1
Cited by
Vertebrate pigmentation: from underlying genes to adaptive function
Hubbard, J. K., Uy, J. A. C., Hauber, M. E., Hoekstra, H. E., & Safran, R. J. (2010) · Trends in Genetics · doi:10.1016/j.tig.2010.02.002 · Cited by 497
Keratin - Based materials for biomedical applications
Feroz, S., Muhammad, N., Ratnayake, J. T., & Dias, G. J. (2020) · Bioactive Materials · doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2020.04.007 · Cited by 389
A window on the genetics of evolution: MC1R and plumage colouration in birds
Mundy, N. I. (2005) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3107 · Cited by 336
How Birds Combat Ectoparasites
Clayton, D. H., Koop, J. A. H., Harbison, C. W., Moyer, B. R., & Bush, S. E. (2010) · The Open Ornithology Journal · doi:10.2174/1874453201003010041 · Cited by 325
GLOGER'S RULE, FEATHER-DEGRADING BACTERIA, AND COLOR VARIATION AMONG SONG SPARROWS
Burtt, E. H., & Ichida, J. M. (2004) · Ornithological Applications · doi:10.1650/7383 · Cited by 251
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Goldstein, G., Flory, K. R., Browne, B. A., Majid, S., Ichida, J. M., & Burtt Jr., E. H.
- Affiliations
- Ohio Wesleyan University (US)
- Venue
- The Auk
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004
- Volume
- 121
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 656
- ISSN
- 0004-8038 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2108002736
- Cited by
- 178
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 5.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Auk (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons - OWU (Ohio Wesleyan University) (submittedVersion)
- BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Enzyme Production and Characterization
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Keywords
- feather degradation, Bacillus licheniformis, keratinase, beta-keratin, melanin, plumage coloration, optical absorption, oligopeptides
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- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: BACTERIAL DEGRADATION OF BLACK AND WHITE FEATHERS. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121%5B0656:bdobaw%5D2.0.co;2
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- Goldstein, G., Flory, K. R., Browne, B. A., Majid, S., Ichida, J. M., & Burtt Jr., E. H. (2004). BACTERIAL DEGRADATION OF BLACK AND WHITE FEATHERS. The Auk. https://doi.org/10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121%5B0656%3Abdobaw%5D2.0.co%3B2
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
