Somes R G, George F W, Baron J, Noble J F, Wilson J D
J Hered. 1984 Mar-Apr;75(2):99-102. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a109902.
The henny -feathering trait of the Sebright bantam chicken is the result of an enhanced rate of estrogen synthesis (aromatase activity) in skin and other peripheral tissues of this bird. To gain insight into the underlying nature of this mutation, we examined the inheritance of this trait using a sensitive isotopic assay for aromatase activity. All birds of the F1 generation obtained by crossing homozygous henny X non- henny chickens expressed increased aromatase in the skin, and the males exhibited henny -feathering plumage. The average rate of aromatase activity in the skin of F1 chicks was approximately half that of homozygous henny chicks. The distribution of increased aromatase activity in the F2 generation and in the backcrosses of F1 to the two types of parental strains suggest that the enzyme activity in extragonadal tissues is regulated predominantly by one autosomal gene. Attempts to demonstrate linkage to several known loci by backcrossing F1 heterozygotes with parental chickens carrying a variety of genetic markers were unsuccessful. We conclude that the enhanced estrogen synthesis in extragonadal tissues in chickens carrying this gene is inherited as an autosomal codominant but that a half maximal level of the enzyme is sufficient to allow full development of female feathering in affected male birds so that henny -feathering is transmitted as a dominant trait.
塞布赖特矮脚鸡的雌羽性状是该鸟类皮肤和其他外周组织中雌激素合成速率（芳香化酶活性）增强的结果。为了深入了解这种突变的潜在本质，我们使用一种灵敏的芳香化酶活性同位素测定法来研究该性状的遗传方式。通过纯合雌羽鸡与非雌羽鸡杂交获得的所有F1代鸟类，其皮肤中的芳香化酶均有增加，且雄性表现出雌羽羽毛。F1代雏鸡皮肤中芳香化酶活性的平均速率约为纯合雌羽雏鸡的一半。F2代以及F1与两种亲本菌株回交后代中芳香化酶活性增加的分布情况表明，性腺外组织中的酶活性主要受一个常染色体基因调控。通过将F1杂合子与携带多种遗传标记的亲本鸡进行回交来证明与几个已知基因座的连锁关系的尝试未成功。我们得出结论，携带该基因的鸡性腺外组织中雌激素合成增强以常染色体共显性方式遗传，但该酶达到一半最大水平就足以使受影响的雄性鸟类完全发育出雌性羽毛，因此雌羽性状作为显性性状遗传。
