A comparison of genetic variability in strains of Japanese quail selected for heavy body weight.

Electrophoretic analyses of body tissues from three strains of Japanese quail from the Quail Genetic Stock Centre at the University of British Columbia, two selected for heavy body weight and one randombred, were carried out to determine whether genetic variations in selected strains were different from randombred strains. In addition, the data were also compared with those obtained from domestic and wild populations in Japan. The proportion of polymorphic loci was higher in the heavy strains than in the randombred strain. The selected strains also differed from the randombred strain in the allelic frequencies of liver esterase and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. While the randombred strain was genetically similar to the domestic strains in Japan, the two selected strains were different from each other and from the domestic strains in Japan. This indicates that (1) polymorphic loci have adaptive importance, and (2) heavy body weight can be achieved by separate genetic mechanisms. A previously unreported allele that affects the migration pattern of muscle adenylate kinase was also discovered in one of the selected strains.