Egg Quality Characteristics in Autochthonous Genotypes of Chickens Raised on Macedonian Rural Farms

Egg quality characteristics of three different autochthonous chicken phenotypes (phenotype having ashy-silvery-brown leghorn laced plumage color, phenotype having light brown spangled plumage color and phenotype having black or blue plumage color) were examined. These types of chickens are mainly raised as backyard rural area flocks in the villages of R. Macedonia. The data were collected through first systematic approaches in phenotypical identification and characterisation of these autochthonous genotypes realized recently. Three small flocks of old hens collected from different villages and placed in control pens were established. No data about number of eggs/hen/year is available for the established flocks. Further investigations are needed to record productive (number of egg produced) and reproductive data. The plan was that additional, yearly production records be collected from the flock produced as offspring from established flock of old hens collected from different villages and placed in control pens. Set of 90 eggs was collected (30 eggs from each plumage phenotype) and basic egg quality parameters measured. Egg size (weight) was 50.71g for brown laced plumage phenotype, 60.48g for blue plumage phenotype and 52.6 g for light brown spangled plumage phenotype. Egg shell strength was 3965, 3628 and 3924 g/cm2 for brown laced, blue and brown spangled plumage phenotype, respectively. Light brown spangled plumage phenotype had the highest value of yolk color (10.29) and Hough Units (76.63) compared to brown laced (10.08 and 75.27) and blue (9.09 and 71.65) plumage phenotype

Analysis of Polycerate Mutants Reveals the Evolutionary Co-option of HOXD1 for Horn Patterning in Bovidae

In the course of evolution, pecorans (i.e. higher ruminants) developed a remarkable diversity of osseous cranial appendages, collectively referred to as 'headgear', which likely share the same origin and genetic basis. However, the nature and function of the genetic determinants underlying their number and position remain elusive. Jacob and other rare populations of sheep and goats are characterized by polyceraty, the presence of more than two horns. Here, we characterize distinct POLYCERATE alleles in each species, both associated with defective HOXD1 function. We show that haploinsufficiency at this locus results in the splitting of horn bud primordia, likely following the abnormal extension of an initial morphogenetic field. These results highlight the key role played by this gene in headgear patterning and illustrate the evolutionary co-option of a gene involved in the early development of bilateria to properly fix the position and number of these distinctive organs of Bovidae