Research suggests commercial chicken flock vulnerable to disease
by November 6, 2008 2:48 pm 69 views
The poultry industry is important to the Fort Smith region. OK Foods, a large regional poultry processing company is based in Fort Smith, and thousands of families in the region are tied economically to the business. More than 1.13 millions were processed in Arkansas in 2007, according to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
Which is why a report from Purdue University about the need to genetically diversify the nation’s commercial poultry flock is of interest.
Purdue University animal sciences professor Bill Muir was part of a research team that analyzed the genetic lines of commercial chickens used to produce meat and eggs around the world. The international team found that commercial poultry are missing more than half of the genetic diversity native to the species. The missing genes leave the commercial flock vulnerable to new diseases and, according to a Purdue University press release, raises “questions about their long-term sustainability.”
“Just what is missing is hard to determine,” Muir said. “But recent concerns over avian flu point to the need to ensure that even rare traits, such as those associated with disease resistance, are not totally missing in commercial flocks.”
Siloam Springs-based Cobb-Vantress, a subsidiary of Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., participated in the study. Tyson Foods spokesman Gary Mickelson told The City Wire that the companies had no comment on the study.
Muir said that while hundreds of chicken breeds exist worldwide, today’s commercial poultry flock descends from about three lines of chickens and poultry used for egg production comes from just one specialized line.
“We suggest interbreeding some experimental commercial poultry lines with native or standard breeds as a backup plan, or ace in the hole, to help the industry meet future challenges, as traits such as disease resistance may be found among the rare alleles of other birds,” Muir said.
(pictured in photo provided by Purdue University: Purdue scientist Bill Muir inspects some of his test subjects.)