title: Feather keratin gene polymorphism (F-KER) in domestic pigeons.
abstract: 1. A 525-bp fragment of a feather keratin (F-KER) gene was amplified. Four PCR products were sequenced. 2. Two substitutions in the amplified region were observed, one of them in the coding region of the gene (cysteine to glycine substitution in the protein). A new ACRS-PCR test for AvaI enzyme was designed. A total of 344 domestic pigeons (Columba livia var. domestica) were genotyped. 3. There were significant differences in the frequencies of alleles and genotypes between homing and non-homing pigeons. The frequency of the rare F-KER(G) allele was higher in the group of homing pigeons. 4. The effects of the detected polymorphism on flying performance should be verified in biomechanical studies.
authors.affiliation: West Pomeranian University of Technology, Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics, 71-460 Szczecin, Poland. Andrzej.Dybus@zut.edu.pl
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dybus
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haase
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010856:Columbidae / Q000235:genetics*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005241:Feathers / Q000378:metabolism*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D007633:Keratins / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D030161:Avian Proteins; D007633:Keratins