Deoxyribonucleic acid fingerprint comparisons between selected populations of chickens

A pair of lines of White Plymouth Rock chickens selected for high or low juvenile body weight, a pair of White Leghorn chickens selected for high or low antibody response to sheep erythrocytes, and an F1 cross between each pair of lines, were used to produce DNA fingerprints (DFP). These DFP were prepared by mixing equal amounts of DNA from several individuals of a particular population, resulting in a DFP characteristic of the population. The populations provided individuals of known genetic relationships and inbreeding levels to evaluate the sensitivity of the DFP technique with DNA mixing. Levels of band sharing between breeds were lowest, those between selected lines within a breed were intermediate, and those between the selected lines and their F1 crosses were highest. These results show that DFP analysis is sensitive to several levels of genetic relationship.