Chicken Genome Sequenced!

Professor Mary Delany admires a Red Jungle Fowl rooster, the species studied to sequence the chicken genome.

The chicken genome, the first to be sequenced from any species of livestock or bird, has already yielded rich comparisons with the genomes of humans, mice, rats and dogs. The chicken genome is only a third as large as mammalian genomes. Similarities and differences will help scientists understand how different types of DNA sequences function.

DNA for the first chicken genome sequence came from a female Red Jungle Fowl from the inbred UCD 001 line developed in the late 1950s at UC Davis by Hans Abplanalp, Professor Emeritus of Avian Sciences. The Red Jungle Fowl is the ancestor of all domestic chickens. During the 1990s, UCD 001 birds were used to create genomic resources that were essential when methods became available to sequence entire genomes. This illustrates how conservation of avian genetic stocks can support unforeseen research advances for this important agricultural species and research model. The Department of Avian Sciences, now Animal Science, has maintained endangered avian genetic stocks as living collections, since avian eggs and embryos do not survive freezing and thawing as is possible with mammals. The department established the Avian Genetic Stocks Conservation Fund to assist in this endeavor. Contributions may be made using the enclosed insert and envelope.