[After-effects in untreated progenies from chickens treated with the products from resistant interspecific grape-vine...

Feeding hens and cocks for 6-8 weeks with the products - wines and juices - from ± resistant interspecific grapevine varieties (F1, F2R), i.e. from crosses between sensitive types of Vitis vinifera and ± resistant American wild types, led to physiological changes of the treated animals. These changes became evident by more than 40% of malformations, especially of legs and plumage, among the individuals of their untreated F1 progeny. These effects proved to be reproducable.Among the F2-individuals from crosses between untreated F1 brothers and sisters 8-11 % of the chickens again carried anomalies of the same kind as found in F1. No relation could be observed between the number of F2 malformations and the types of F1-parents: both of them had been either normal, slightly anomalous or crippled.In the following generation (F3) from F2 brothers and sisters, again selected for equal types (normals, slightly anomalous or crippled ones) and crossed among themselves or to standard-♂♂, the number of malformations became reduced to 0,9-2,2%. From this generation on severely crippled types were almost lacking and only slightly anomalous ones showed up, characterized by crippled toes and/or plumage defects.The following crosses between F3♀♀ and F2♂♂ did not give rise to anomalies among the progeny of the next generation, as was the case when normal ♀♀ (F2 1966) were crossed to standard-♂♂, while from the reciprocal combination (F2♀♀ × F3♂♂) again 4,7% of the F4R chickens hatched with moderately or slightly deformed feet besides 21,9% of individuals with defective feathers.Among the chickens of the following generation (F5) from crosses between normal F4R brothers and sisters there resulted another 4,6% and 6,9% of individuals with crippled toes (slight type) and defective wing feathers, respectively. On the other hand only normal chickens hatched from the eggs of standard-♀♀ crossed to an anomalous ♂ from F4R. The controls were free from anomalies.Thus the effects of experimental beverages fed once to the P1, had caused in the following generations (F1- F5) certain numbers of individuals with malformations, developing in declining numbers and with gradually reduced severity. The 5 generations observed did not suffice for a complete rehabilitation.It is suggested that the effects were caused by latent though increasingly reduced changes within the female germ plasm, coming about by some unknown substance(s) immanent to the relatively resistant grape-vine cultivars used. Individually acting upon the embryological development, environmental influences are supposed to add to the effects.Since the types of malformations of legs and plumage can easily be compared to those observed in cases of vitamin B2-deficiency in the diet of chicks, the substance(s) applied with the beverages possibly reduce(s) the embryonic exploitation rate of vitamins, too. Another hint in that direction could be the more or less complete normalization of the plumage defects at the time of the first moulting, i.e. when the maternal egg yolk probably has become fully absorbed by the growing chicken and the exploitation of vitamins has turned autonomous. Rehabilitation of crippled legs never has been found.Treating the same animals in two successive years, with some months of water-feeding in between, does not seem to give an additive effect as to the number of anomalies developing in both F1-generations. During the interval of normal feeding the relatively high turnover, especially in hens, by the building up of eggs and by moulting, apparently causes a general normalization within the germ plasm before the second treatment.Nothing is known about the type of substance (s) fed with the products from resistant grape-vines, nor do we know anything about the pattern of their action and reaction, leading to changes within the germ plasm and finally reducing the utilization of vitamins in chick embryos from individuals once treated in some former generation.