Inan articlepublished today inBMC Biology, Christopher Balakrishnan and co-workers explore the intriguing evolutionary history of the zebra finch major histocompatibility complex. In asecond articlein the journal, Fang Xie and colleagues survey the neuropeptidome of the song bird.

Victor Quesada and colleaguesreportinBMC Genomicshow genomic expansions and deletions shape the repertoires of proteases in birds and mammals, Estrogenic steroids are responsible to shape the male neural circuits that control zebra finch singing and Sarah London and David Claytonhad a close lookat steroid related genes in the songbird genome .

As with every new genome, theannouncementof the sequence is a first step towards a new research program, rather than the endpoint of it. The questions that can now be addressed, using the song bird as a genomic model, are supported by new genetic tools. InBMC Genomics, Alexander Ball and colleaguesexplorethe types of markers that can be applied to detailed genetic studies.

Our newthematic seriestakes off today, but we will add further content to the series in the near future. The interest in zebra finch research brings together scientists from backgrounds as diverse as neuroscience, evolutionary biology, genomics , developmental biology and ecology. From basic questions on the evolution of language to the study of avian virology as a potential threat to human health, the songbird genome will open new doors to understanding. The series will be a home for songbird research from all these fields and we hope that bringing these articles together will prompt continued interest in the wider scientific community and promote fruitful collaborations.