Study shows how chickens keep their cool
Roslin in the News
- Nature 24 March 11
How the chicken’s neck got naked - Farmers Weekly 23 March 11
Transylvanian birds are the coolest - Veterinary Record 19 March 11
Naked neck chickens and the art of staying cool - National Geographic 16 March 11
Why Transylvanian Chickens Have Naked Necks - Daily Mail 16 March 11
Scientists finally discover why the 'churkey' sheds its neck feathers - New Scientist 16 March 11
How 'churkeys' keep their cool - The Poultry Site 16 March 11
Natural Mutation Helps Chicken's Heat Tolerance - myScience 16 March 11
Study on how chickens keep their cool - Nature 16 March 11
Why did the chicken lose its neck feathers? - PLoS Biology 16 March 11
Original Article: Cryptic Patterning of Avian Skin Confers a Developmental Facility for Loss of Neck Feathering - BBC News 16 March 11
Experts unravel 'churkey' appearance mystery - World Poultry 16 March 11
Cooling study may aid poultry production in hot climates - Medical News Today 16 March 11
Study Shows How Chickens Keep Their Cool - The Roslin Institute is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Published on 16 March 2011
Its head looks like a turkey's, its body resembles a chicken's - now scientists can explain why one of the poultry world's most curious specimens has developed such a distinctive look.
Its head looks like a turkey's, its body resembles a chicken's - now scientists can explain why one of the poultry world's most curious specimens has developed such a distinctive look.
The Transylvanian naked neck chicken – once dubbed a Churkey or a Turken because of its hybrid appearance - has developed its defining feature because of a complex genetic mutation.
Researchers at The Roslin Institute at The University of Edinburgh found that a vitamin A-derived substance produced around the bird's neck enhanced the effects of the genetic mutation.
This causes a protein – BMP12 - to be produced, suppressing feather growth and causing the bird to have an outstanding bald neck.
The findings could help poultry production in hot countries, including in the developing world, because chickens with naked necks are much better equipped to withstand the heat.
The discovery also has implications for understanding how birds – including vultures - evolved to have featherless necks due to their metabolism of vitamin A selectively in neck skin.
Transylvanian naked necks, which are thought to have originated from the north of Romania, have been around for hundreds of years and were introduced to Britain in the 1920s.
The research, published in the journal PLoS, was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Dr Denis Headon, who led the research at The Roslin Institute, said: 'Not only does this help our understanding of developmental biology and give insight into how different breeds have evolved but it could have practical implications for helping poultry production in hot countries including those in the developing world.'
Researchers analysed DNA samples from naked neck chickens in Mexico, France and Hungary to find the genetic mutation. Skin samples from embryonic chickens were also analysed using complex mathematical modelling to identify the genetic trigger.
Notes to editors: Photos of the Transylvanian naked neck chickens (credit The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, can be downloaded from http://www.mediafire.com/?dnfxw50lepb19
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