Light down--dominant plumage color mutation with homozygous lethality in Japanese quail

A new plumage color mutation in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) was named light down (LD) from its external appearance at hatching; it was expressed as an incompletely dominant autosomal gene, for which the symbol L is proposed. In the heterozygous neonates, black stripes on the head and back were narrow and yellowish stripes were wide, creating a lighter external appearance than that of the wild type. One-third of the homozygotes, which had creamy down plumules all over the body, died before hatching. All homozygous chicks allowed to hatch showed abnormal behavior and died within 1 week. The LD adults showed slightly diluted pigmentation all over the body, along with an increased number of transversal bars on the back and wing feathers, as compared with the wild type.