Epigenetics and phenotypic variability: some interesting insights from birds

Abstract Text:

Little is known about epigenetic mechanisms in birds, except the phenomenon of dosage compensation of sex chromosomes, although such mechanisms could be involved in the phenotypic variability of birds, as in several livestock species. This paper reviews the literature on epigenetic mechanisms that could contribute significantly to trait variability in birds, and compares the results to the existing knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms in mammals. The main issues addressed in this paper are: (1) How does the embryo environment influence the adult phenotype in avian species? (2) Does the embryo environment have an impact on phenotypic variability across several successive generations? The potential for epigenetic studies to improve the performance of individual animals through the implementation of limited changes in breeding conditions or the addition of new parameters in selection models is still an open question.

Keywords:

epigenetics

bird

phenotypic variability