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Complementation Tests

Complementation Tests

A complementation test is a simple cross to identify whether the two mutations are located on the same gene or different genes. It was first performed by Edward Lewis in the 1940s while working on fruit flies. He developed the test to identify the location and arrangement of different mutations on chromosomes.
Organisms heterozygous for different mutations are crossed pairwise in all combinations. If present on different genes, the mutations can complement each other by providing the missing...

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Body Weight Deviations as Indicator for Resilience in Layer Chickens.

Tom V L Berghof¹, Henk Bovenhuis¹, Han A Mulder¹

¹Wageningen University & Research Animal Breeding and Genomics, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Frontiers in Genetics

|January 11, 2020

Summary

This study found genetic variation in layer chickens for resilience, measured by body weight fluctuations. Lower body weight variance predicted better disease resistance, suggesting potential for selective breeding to enhance chicken resilience.

Keywords:

body weight deviation disease resistance immunity micro-environment natural antibody production resilience

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Area of Science:

Animal Science
Genetics
Immunology

Background:

Resilience in animals is crucial for mitigating environmental disturbances and maintaining production stability.
Natural antibodies (NAb) are proposed indicators of general disease resistance, functioning without prior antigen exposure.
Understanding genetic parameters of resilience is key to improving animal health and productivity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate genetic parameters of resilience indicators derived from standardized body weight (BW) deviations in layer chickens.
To explore the relationship between these resilience indicators, natural antibodies (NAb), and disease resistance.
To assess the potential for selective breeding to enhance resilience in poultry.

Main Methods:

Layer chickens were selectively bred for high and low keyhole limpet hemocyanin-binding NAb levels over six generations.
Body weight data were collected from 4 to 32 weeks of age.
Resilience indicators (ln(variance), skewness, lag-one autocorrelation of BW deviations) were calculated and heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated.

Main Results:

Heritabilities for resilience indicators ranged from 0.09 to 0.11, indicating genetic variation.
Genetic correlations between resilience indicators were low, suggesting they measure different aspects of resilience.
Genetic correlations between resilience indicators and NAb were near zero, indicating distinct mechanisms.
Lower estimated breeding values for ln(variance) correlated with reduced lesion scores after avian pathogenic *Escherichia coli* challenge.

Conclusions:

Genetic variation exists for resilience indicators based on BW deviations in layer chickens.
Selective breeding for these resilience indicators offers a potential strategy to improve poultry resilience.
While NAb and BW deviations appear to capture different aspects of immunity and resilience, BW deviation metrics show promise for predicting disease resistance.