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Sex determination in birds: progeny of nondisjunction canaries of Durham (1926)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

K. Sittmann
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, McGill University 1205 Ave. Dr Penfield, Montreal, CanadaH3A 1B1
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The heterogametic sex in birds (ZW) is female for presence of the W or for lack of a second Z chromosome. These alternatives can be distinguished given ZO or ZZW aneuploids and segregation of a Z-linked marker in their progeny. Having discovered the Z-linked cinnamon locus with two alleles (B, black eyes; b, red eyes), Durham observed 21 black-eyed daughters (BO or BbW) of bb cocks and B hens. Using Durham's data on sex–colour phenotypes of 14 young of two of the 21 matroclinous females show that the sex chromosome constitution of the two exceptional hens were more likely ZO than ZZW. This case plus that of Crew's (1983) trisomic rooster (ZZW) shows that sex determination in birds follows the ‘genic balance’ scheme as in Drosophila, not the ‘dominant Y’ scheme as in mammals.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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