The sex-linked barring gene of the chicken (Gallus gallus), first identified in 1908, produces an alternating pattern of white and black bars in the adult plumage. More recent studies have shown that melanocytes in the developing feather follicle of the Barred Plymouth Rock experience premature cell death, whereas initially it was thought that melanocytes remained viable in the region of the fe...

Today the developments in genetics are exciting. Perhaps this explains why geneticists sometimes seem to overlook common sense solutions. One example of this is the selection experiment done by Bijma et al. (2007a,b). These authors developed a sophisticated statistical method of group selection against mortality in hens randomly placed together. One may safely assume that this mortality is due ...

Methenamine salts have been traditionally used in the veterinary and human medicine, but its use is sometimes associated with some side effects.Toxicopathological effects of methenamine salt have always been a major concern. There is scantly information available about the lesions of methenamine compound in embryo. The objective of this study was to determine the teratogenic effects of methenam...

FAO estimates that in 2030 the poultry meat production could reach 120 million tons, which is a challenge terms of waste management. Feathers are mainly composed keratin, an important biomaterial. Using feathers as source keratin will minimize generated, while contributing to supply material for several industries, such pharmaceutical and biomedical. The peptides were extracted from by microbia...

In this special issue on the Evo-Devo of amniote integuments, Alibardi has discussed the adaptation of the integument to the land. Here we will discuss the adaptation to the sky. We first review a series of fossil discoveries representing intermediate forms of feathers or feather-like appendages from dinosaurs and Mesozoic birds from the Jehol Biota of China. We then discuss the molecular and d...

The tyrosinase (TYR) and melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) genes have been accepted as major genes involved in the plumage pigmentation of chickens. The co-segregation of plumage coloration and sequence polymorphism in TYR and MC1R genes were investigated using an intercross between black and white plumage color types of the Dongxiang blue-shelled chicken. Profiles of plumage color changing and ge...