Position of Russian chicken breeds in the diversity of Eurasian breeds
Nikiforov, A.A.; Moiseeva, I.G.; Zakharov, I.A.
Genetika 34(6): 850-851
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-6758 PMID: 9719931 Document Number: 495287
31 discrete morphological characters were recorded for 11 old Russian, 4 Mediterranean and 9 Asian fowl breeds and compared with those of the red jungle fowl. Most of the characters studied showed monogenic inheritance. A dendrogram showed that the breeds formed 5 clusters. Almost all breeds that had been developed for a similar use (eggs, meat/eggs, meat, game and ornamental) were included in the same cluster independent of their geographical origin. Mediterranean breeds were most closely related to the wild species. A wide typological diversity of old Russian breeds was shown, with breeds appearing in all 5 clusters. Mediterranean and Asian breeds were also found in all clusters. However, 10 out of 11 studied Russian breeds were found to be more closely related to Asian breeds than to Mediterranean breeds.