INTERRELATIONSHIP OF COMB LOCI AND MATING BEHAVIOR IN CHICKENS

Abstract

Qualitative and quantitative data obtained from lines of chickens divergently selected for male mating ability and from the unselected randombred control population were used to evaluate the relationship of comb type alleles and mating behavior. An apparent antagonistic relationship was found between the rose (R) allele and low cumulative number of completed matings in the low mating line, while the opposite association was found for the pea (P) allele. No association was found between alleles of the rose and pea loci and mating ability in the high mating or control lines. An antagonistic relationship was indicated between the rough (He+) allele and a high cumulative number of matings. These results support the hypothesis that two genetical systems interact to influence the mating frequency of male chickens and further suggest that alleles of the rose, rough, and pea loci should not be used as marker genes to estimate genetic drift in random mating populations maintained by natural matings.