Posted by: Sandy Steinman | April 27, 2023

Chicken DNA is replacing the genetics of their ancestral jungle fowl

Science News reports

Today’s red jungle fowl — the wild forebears of the domesticated chicken — are becoming more chickenlike. New research suggests that a large proportion of the wild fowl’s DNA has been inherited from chickens, and relatively recently.

Ongoing interbreeding between the two birds may threaten wild jungle fowl populations’ future, and even hobble humans’ ability to breed better chickens, researchers report January 19 in PLOS Genetics.

Read more Chicken DNA is replacing the genetics of their ancestral jungle fowl


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