Section 14 — Animal Genetics and Breeding 



14.23. (D). Technic of Repeated Heterologous 

 Blood Injections to Induce in the White Leg- 

 horn Alterations Transferred to Descendency . 



L. Stroun-Guttieres, J. Stroun and M. 

 Stroun (Geneva, Switzerland). 



To successive generations of cocks and hens 

 descending from a white Leghorn strain with 

 stable characteristics, the authors have repeated- 

 ly injected heterologous blood by the intra- 

 peritoneal route. The blood is injected every 3 

 to 5 days as soon as the subjects are 10 to 30 

 days old and for a period of 6 to 7 months. In 

 each new generation, fowls remaining up to the 

 standards of the white Leghorn are again sub- 

 mitted to the blood injections. In some birds 

 whose ascendants have been treated, from F2 

 onward the authors have noticed alterations in 

 the colour and quality of the feathers and in the 

 pigmentation of the feet, which are maintained 

 in the descendency independently of any in- 

 jection whatsoever. No alteration is noticed 

 in a check Leghorn group treated under identical 

 conditions whith blood from white Leghorn. 

 The authors demonstrate their technic and their 

 results with diagrams, pictures and preserved 

 specimens of altered and normal birds. 



14.24. Egg White as a Modifying Factor in Heredity. 



Luben G. Angeloff (Sofia, Bulgaria). 



The present experiments reported were con- 

 cerned with influence of foreign egg-white 

 (from 5 to 11 ml) of unfertilized eggs of other 

 birds, namely, condor (Sarcorhamphus gryphus, 

 Linn.), wild goose (Anser anser. L.), Chinese 

 goose (Cygnopsis cygnoides, L.) and Indian 

 turkey hen (Meleagris galloporo, L.) on the 

 process of development of chick embryos. 

 They were designed to determine whether the 

 transmission of hereditary effects could be 

 brought about by transforming foreign egg- 

 white from one strain to another and if the 

 yolk of the unfertilized egg is a bearer of in- 

 herited characters with a view to obtaining a 

 new race of domestic hens possessing more val- 

 uable characteristics as regards meat, eggs and 

 resistance to infections. 



By injecting eggwhite into eggs of represen- 

 tatives of different orders of birds the following 

 conclusions were drawn: transfer of traits by 

 injection of egg white between representatives 

 of different orders of birds is possible when the 

 sexual crossing is impossible. The egg white of 

 the unfertilized egg was a bearer of hereditary 

 traits. The experimental birds grew rapidly, 

 were bigger, and weighed more than the controls. 



The hereditary traits appearing in the first gener- 

 ation were transmitted to the fourth generation. 



14.25. Experimental Change in the Hereditary 

 Character of Gametes in Birds. B. G. Novikov 



(Kiev, U.S.S.R.). 



This note generalizes the results of the author's 

 investigations on the change in the hereditary 

 characters of gametes in birds by cross trans- 

 plantation of the testicle and injection of 

 heterogenous desoxyribonucleic acid. 



Proceeding from the principle of the formation 

 of the hereditary characters of gametes in the 

 process of the entire ontogeny, it may be presum- 

 ed that during development in the organism of 

 another breed of animal these characters should 

 alter in the gametes. The answer to this ques- 

 tion was found in experiments on cross trans- 

 plantation of the testicle in fowls and ducks. The 

 essence of these experiments is that soon after 

 hatching several testicles from Rhode Island 

 chicks were transplanted into the body cavity 

 of castrated Leghorn chicks, while Leghorn 

 gonads were transplanted to Rhode Island 

 chicks. In the experiments on ducks interchange 

 transplantation of testicles was carried out 

 on fledglings of mallard and peking ducks. 

 After 1-2 years sperm was taken from the trans- 

 planted testicle during the breeding season and 

 used to fertilize artificially females of the breed 

 to which the transplant belonged. 



The investigations showed that in posterity 

 obtained as the result of such insemination varied 

 hereditary changes occur which cannot be ob- 

 tained by ordinary crosses of the initial forms. 

 The rate of variability was intensified in subse- 

 quent generations. By selection and closely 

 related crossing of altered forms it was possible 

 to stabilize several breed groups of fowls dif- 

 fering in plumage colour, comb structure, con- 

 stitution and final body dimensions. A similar 

 result was obtained in experiments on the cross 

 transplantation of testicles in ducks. 



In later investigations, on analysis of the 

 mechanisms of the phenomenon under conside- 

 ration, an attempt was made to connect the 

 hereditary changes of the gametes that had de- 

 veloped in the organism of another breed of 

 ducks with the changes in their desoxyribonucleic 

 acid. The study of this problem was begun with 

 experiments on the injection of heterogenous 

 DNA in ducks. The essence of these experiments 

 consisted in systematic injections of DNA from 

 the erythrocytes of a wild duck into peking 

 ducks during several years, beginning at the 

 age of eight days; in the converse experiments 



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