ANS 378 Animal Genetics
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Research Journal Report #02
10/21/04
Research Topic: Inheritance of a sex-linked trait
Animal Species: Guinea fowl
Title of the Paper: Inheritance of wing feather development rate in guinea fowl (Numida meleagris)
Author(s): Pal, S.K.; Singh, H.
Abstract: 1. A study of primary wing feather development rate in guinea fowl revealed genetic control through a single pair of sex-linked alleles. The allele for slow feathering (K) was dominant over that for rapid feathering (k+).
2. Wing feather sexing showed 94% accuracy in 10-d-old keets.
3. Incidence of rapid feathering allele (k+) was higher in the population selected for high body weight compared to the unselected population.
Keywords: Body weight, phenotype, genetic correlation, sex linkage, gene frequency
Reference: Pal, S.K., and H. Singh. 1997. Inheritance of wing feather development rate in guinea fowl (Numida meleagris). Brit. Poultry Sci. 38:245-248.
Based on previous studies, it is known that a single pair of sex-linked alleles in turkeys and chickens affects rate of primary wing feather development. In later studies, sex-linked inheritance determining rate of feather growth (fast or slow) in guinea fowl was also described. To further explore this idea, three selected populations and one unselected population of guinea fowl (selection was based on plumage and 12 week body weight) were studied. Artificial insemination was used with parents of known genotypes to produce the keets to be observed. Wing development was recorded for each keet immediately at hatching, then was recorded again at four and ten days of age. Sex of the keets was determined either by careful observation or at post-mortem.
The purpose of this research was to gather more information about the inheritance of rate of wing feather development in guinea fowl. By increasing the knowledge base of any particular species, an increase in possibilities for that species is also made available. By discovering if there is any correlation between wing feather development, body weight, and inheritance, it could be possible to increase profits in guinea fowl rearing by being able to selectively breed them more efficiently for the desired traits.
The results of this research showed that there are two distinct phenotypes for feather growth rate. These were identified as fast and slow, and after further examination were found to be sex-linked. The data gathered from this experiment corresponded to the expected values for distributions between male/female and fast/slow feathering. The three selected groups had a slightly lower incidence of fast feathering than did the unselected group. The two alleles are currently being identified as K (the slow feathering, dominant allele) and k+ (the rapid feathering, recessive allele).
This study is important because it helps to further our knowledge of this particular pair of sex-linked alleles. There is a potential, based on the results, that shows that sex identification of guinea fowl by phenotypic feathering rates might be feasible. This would allow for more definitive sexing of these birds, since male and female keets look similar enough that it is difficult to determine which they are, sometimes even at twenty weeks of age. It was shown that there is about a 94% accuracy rate for determining a keet’s sex by feathering phenotype, the remaining 6% discrepancy possibly being due to the influence of other genes.
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