The domestication of animals and plants is the most important technological innovation during human history. This genetic transformation of wild species has occurred as humans have used individuals carrying a favorable gene that varies for breeding purposes. In the current issue of Nature, an international team led by researchers at Uppsala University (Sweden) has revealed some of the secrets underlying the remarkable development of the domestic chicken. The Low growth and High growth lines are two of the populations included in the study. These lines were developed by Paul Siegel at Virginia Tech from a common ancestral population. They show an almost a huge difference in body weight at eight weeks of age after 40 generations of selections for low or high growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment