title: Epigenetics and phenotypic variability: some interesting insights from birds.
abstract: Little is known about epigenetic mechanisms in birds with the exception of the phenomenon of dosage compensation of sex chromosomes, although such mechanisms could be involved in the phenotypic variability of birds, as in several livestock species. This paper reviews the literature on epigenetic mechanisms that could contribute significantly to trait variability in birds, and compares the results to the existing knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms in mammals. The main issues addressed in this paper are: (1) Does genomic imprinting exist in birds? (2) How does the embryonic environment influence the adult phenotype in avian species? (3) Does the embryonic environment have an impact on phenotypic variability across several successive generations? The potential for epigenetic studies to improve the performance of individual animals through the implementation of limited changes in breeding conditions or the addition of new parameters in selection models is still an open question.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR444, Laboratoire de Génétique Cellulaire, Castanet-Tolosan F-31326, France.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frésard
authors.forename: Mireille
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morisson
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brun
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Collin
authors.forename: Bertrand
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pain
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Minvielle
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pitel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics*; D004777:Environment; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype