This research project has a ₤2M (€2.46M / $3.36M) grant to thank for its existence

May 28, 2014 22:01 GMT  ·  By
Scientists report progress in study concerning the evolutionary history of chickens
   Scientists report progress in study concerning the evolutionary history of chickens

Towards the end of last year's September, it was announced that the United Kingdom government had agreed to offer a nearly ₤2 million (€2.46 million / $3.36 million) to a group of researchers interested in studying the rise of the domesticated chicken.

Recent news on the topic says that the specialists behind this rather peculiar research project have made some progress in their work and are beginning to unravel the mystery of why humans felt the need to domesticate these feathered creatures.

According to Nature, it was last week that researchers behind the Chicken Coop initiative – or the Cultural and Scientific Perceptions of Human-Chicken Interactions project, if you prefer – had a meeting and talked about their findings.

While at this meeting, evolutionary geneticist Greger Larson with Durham University in the United Kingdom argued that, according to evidence at hand, contemporary chickens carry two gene variants which, contrary to expectations, appear to be quite young.

Of these gene variants, one is responsible for the fact that a diet rich in carotenoids, i.e. organic pigments present in plants and certain photosynthetic organisms, makes the skin and the legs of domestic chickens turn yellow.

The other gene variant is called the TSHR (thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor gene), and it is the reason why, unlike their ancestors, contemporary chickens that people rely on as a food source are able to lay eggs year round and not just during certain periods.

Since these two traits are fairly common in modern chickens, it was believed they emerged through selective breeding many centuries ago. Evidence indicates that this was not the case. On the contrary, chances are that chickens that lived just 200 years ago looked very different from modern ones.

Greger Larson and fellow researchers are now trying to determine why it is that, despite selective breeding, which should have led to interbreeding and consequently a poor immune system, chickens have not yet been wiped out by disease.

While some might frown at the idea that the United Kingdom agreed to invest in a study concerning the evolutionary history of the domestic chicken, the scientists behind this project argue that such a study was very much needed.

This is because, for the time being, the meat and eggs of such birds constitute a source of protein for billions of people worldwide. Hence, it is important that science reaches a better understanding of how and why chickens came to be this important to human society. “No one ever considers chickens, which is a massive mistake,” says Holly Miller with the University of Nottingham.