Parthenogenesis in medium white turkeys selected for low and high semen ejaculate volumes.

The incidence of parthenogenesis in two lines of Medium White turkeys subjected to bidirectional selection for semen ejaculate volume was examined during the ninth and tenth generations. A significant increase in the incidence of parthenogenesis was observed in both generations of the line selected for low semen volume. The study suggests that selection for low semen volume may result in the stimulation of parthenogenesis as a means of genome survival.