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Blood ring: an early embryonic lethal condition in chickens
T F Savage1, M P DeFrank, S E Brean
1Department of Poultry Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331-3402.
The Journal of Heredity
|March 1, 1988
Summary
Blood ring is a lethal chicken embryonic condition causing uncoalesced blood islands. This autosomal recessive trait, symbolized as blr, has gene frequencies up to 0.16 in commercial populations.
Area of Science:
- Avian genetics and embryology
- Developmental biology
- Poultry science
Background:
- Blood ring is a lethal embryonic condition in chickens.
- It manifests between 48 and 66 hours of incubation.
- Characterized by specific morphological abnormalities in blood vessels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the lethal embryonic condition known as blood ring in chickens.
- To detail its phenotypic characteristics and inheritance pattern.
- To report the prevalence of the associated gene in commercial chicken populations.
Main Methods:
- Phenotypic characterization of affected embryos.
- Inheritance studies to determine the genetic mode of transmission.
- Gene frequency estimation in commercial chicken populations.
Main Results:
- Blood ring is characterized by uncoalesced blood islands, absent vitelline arteries, and an engorged sinus terminalis.
- The condition is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.
- Estimated gene frequencies for the blood ring (blr) gene range from 0.08 to 0.16 in three commercial populations.
Conclusions:
- The blood ring condition is a significant lethal genetic disorder in chickens.
- The recessive gene (blr) is present in commercial poultry stocks.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the blood ring gene's expression.