Genetic Verification of Dizygotic Twin Embryos in the White-throated Sparrow (<i>Zonotrichia albicollis</i>)

Betuel, Adam M.; Tuttle, Elaina M.; Gonser, Rusty A.

doi:10.1676/14-090.1

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 31 publications

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“…Given that (a) the occurrence of multiple ova per egg is exceedingly rare in birds [45,46], (b) non-surviving individuals remain in the nest as unhatched eggs and (c) post-fledging survival and breeding success of all hatchlings is monitored, our results demonstrate that-at least for two popular avian study species-it is feasible to observe individual survival from almost immediately post-conception in the wild. It is thereby possible to extend empirical consideration of the life histories of wild animals beyond the 'cradle to grave' perspective that dominates popular notions of what a lifespan represents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Unhatched eggs represent the invisible fraction in two wild bird populations

Hemmings

Evans

2020

Biol. Lett.

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Prenatal mortality is typically overlooked in population studies, which biases evolutionary inference by confounding selection and inheritance. Birds represent an opportunity to include this ‘invisible fraction’ if each egg contains a zygote, but whether hatching failure is caused by fertilization failure versus prenatal mortality is largely unknown. We quantified fertilization failure rates in two bird species that are popular systems for studying evolutionary dynamics and found that overwhelming majorities (99.9%) of laid eggs were fertilized. These systems thus present opportunities to eliminate the invisible fraction from life-history data.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Unhatched eggs represent the invisible fraction in two wild bird populations

Hemmings

Evans

2020

Biol. Lett.

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The phenomenon of the monovular twinning in the endangered zatorska goose

2018

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The phenomenon of multiple embryos in birds and other oviparous vertebrates is very rare and thus poorly studied. Some populations of wild birds or lines of poultry, including the zatorska goose, may be particularly predisposed to developing monovular twin embryos (MTE). The aim of the study was to investigate the frequency of single yolk twin embryos in the zatorska goose and to establish whether these embryos are generated as a result of polyembryony or other developmental anomalies.Embryopathological analysis, which included identification of the developmental stages of all MTEs at the time of death, was carried out on 1,955 unhatched eggs obtained from 20 pedigree breeding flocks of the zatorska goose. Post-mortem examinations revealed as many as 13 MTEs (0.66% compared to embryonated eggs) at varying developmental stages.The results of genotyping of the microsatellite loci of 7 pairs of twins demonstrated genetic similarity in 6 of them; this suggests that they developed from 1 blastoderm, while differences in 2 loci of 1 pair show that the MTE originates from 2 blastodiscs. Pedigree analysis of the MTEs does not provide evidence that predisposition toward twinning results from the genetic background. However, more frequent MTE occurrence could be seen in eggs stored for more than 8 d. It seems that embryos of the zatorska goose are more susceptible to duplication under special conditions, such as prolonged egg storage.

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Genetic Verification of Dizygotic Twin Embryos in the White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

Unhatched eggs represent the invisible fraction in two wild bird populations

Unhatched eggs represent the invisible fraction in two wild bird populations

The phenomenon of the monovular twinning in the endangered zatorska goose

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