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Comparative embryonic development in chickens with different patterns of postnatal growth
N J Clum1, D K McClearn, G F Barbato
1Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Growth, Development, and Aging : GDA
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Chicken embryonic development differs between lines with varied postnatal growth. Higher growth lines showed less bone, feather, and eye development during incubation, indicating altered tissue allocation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Animal Science
- Comparative Embryology
Background:
- Postnatal growth patterns in chickens can be influenced by embryonic development.
- Understanding embryonic tissue partitioning is key to explaining postnatal growth variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if differing postnatal growth patterns in chicken lines are reflected in embryonic tissue allocation.
- To test the hypothesis that embryonic development strategies change in response to selection for postnatal growth.
Main Methods:
- Utilized classical embryonic staging and morphological measurements (bone, cartilage, feather, intestines).
- Compared two chicken lines with distinct postnatal growth trajectories during the second quarter of incubation.
Main Results:
- The line with higher postnatal growth showed significantly earlier embryonic staging (less overall development).
- This line exhibited reduced embryonic growth in bone, feather, and eye development, but not gut development.
- Differences in tissue allocation were observed despite no gross morphological variations at hatching.
Conclusions:
- Embryonic tissue reallocation patterns change in association with divergent postnatal growth.
- These developmental shifts may represent strategic allocation to tissues like muscle for enhanced posthatching growth potential.