Minvielle Francis, Gourichon David, Moussu Chantal
Génétique et Diversité Animales, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Jouy, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France.
BMC Genet. 2005 Mar 11;6:14. doi: 10.1186/1471-2156-6-14.
The genetics of plumage of Japanese quail is of interest both from a biological standpoint, for comparative studies between avian species, and from a zootechnical standpoint, for identifying commercial selection lines or crosses. There are only few plumage mutations reported in quail, and the present work describes a new color variant "rusty" and a new feather structure "curly", and their heredity from an F1 and F2 segregation experiment.
Curly feathers result from abnormal early growth caused by transient joining of follicle walls of adjacent feathers around 10 days of age, but the expression of the trait is variable. Rusty plumage color results from the replacement of the wild-type plumage pattern on the tip of the feather by a reddish coloration, but the pigmentation of the bottom part of the feather is not affected. Two lines breeding true for the curly or the rusty phenotype were developed. Both characters are determined by autosomal recessive mutations which are independent. The curly mutation has also a positive effect on body weight at 5 weeks of age.
The curly line is a new model which may be used for further work on the growth of the feather, and the rusty mutation is a new addition to the panel of plumage mutations available for comparative studies in poultry, and more generally among avian species.
从生物学角度来看，日本鹌鹑羽毛的遗传学对于鸟类物种间的比较研究很有意义；从畜牧学角度来看，对于识别商业选择品系或杂交品种也很有意义。鹌鹑中报道的羽毛突变很少，本研究描述了一种新的颜色变体“锈色”和一种新的羽毛结构“卷曲”，并通过F1和F2分离实验对其遗传情况进行了研究。
卷曲羽毛是由于相邻羽毛的毛囊壁在大约10日龄时短暂连接导致早期生长异常所致，但该性状的表达具有变异性。锈色羽毛颜色是由于羽毛尖端的野生型羽毛图案被红色取代，但羽毛底部的色素沉着不受影响。培育出了两个分别对卷曲或锈色表型呈纯合的品系。这两个性状均由独立的常染色体隐性突变决定。卷曲突变对5周龄时的体重也有积极影响。
卷曲品系是一种新的模型，可用于进一步研究羽毛的生长，锈色突变是家禽中可用于比较研究的羽毛突变种类中的新增成员，更广泛地说，也是鸟类物种中可用于比较研究的羽毛突变种类中的新增成员。
