The genetic material of birds, i.e. the number of chromosomes and the mutual position of the various genes, changes much more slowly than that of mammals. The similarities between birds are consequently so great that you can use the genome of the chicken to predict with reasonable accuracy where you can find specific properties in other birds.
This was the conclusion of an international research project in which Prof. Martien Groenen and Dr. Richard Crooijmans of the Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre of Wageningen University participated. The researchers published an article about their findings in BMC Genomics.
The research ascertained that one chromosome of the chicken can be found in the turkey in the form of two chromosomes. Somewhere in evolution, a break occurred in one of the chromosomes in the ancestors of the turkey. The researchers were also able to reconstruct approximately where the break was located on the chromosome. On the other hand, the researchers discovered a chromosome in the chicken that probably originated from the fusion of two separate chromosomes.
The most important conclusion, according to Groenenis, is that the genomes of the chicken and the turkey are very similar. ‘The genomes are much more similar than is the case with mammals. We don't yet have an explanation for why this is. But the advantage is that we can use the model genome of the chicken, which we have already mapped out, for research into other birds such as the turkey or the duck. You already have a global impression of where you can find specific properties.' / Jan Braakman
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