Study: Mutations transformed jungle fowl to domestic chickens
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photo)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of genetic mutations accumulated over thousands of years have transformed the red jungle fowl of South Asia into the domesticated chickens that are a fixture on farms — and dining tables — worldwide, according to a scientific analysis of poultry DNA published this week in the journal Nature.
Swedish and American scientists identified roughly 7.5 million genetic variations between domesticated chickens and the jungle fowl, their primary wild ancestor. Then the scientists zeroed in on a few dozen differences that seemed particularly important based on their frequent prevalence in eight distinct populations of birds raised for meat or eggs.
One of the key genetic changes was in the DNA that carries the code for the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor. (more…)
Breckenridge "Breck," a cockapoo of Little Rock, is 
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