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Alteration of melanocytes by DNA in White Plymouth Rock chickens

Nature volume 252, pages 597–598 (1974)Cite this article

Abstract

SINCE 1944 when it was first demonstrated that the pneumococcal transforming principle was DNA1, several investigators have reported evidence suggesting genetic alteration of warmblooded animal cells by DNA-mediated transformations2–7. Attempts to transform the plumage coloration characters in White Plymouth Rock embryos have been unsuccessful8. The genetically lethal melanocytes in the White Plymouth Rock chicken do not appear abundantly or thrive for long in the feather germ. They degenerate before they can deposit a significant number of melanin granules in the feather-forming cells9. Using nucleoprotein from the Harco chicken, a standard cross between the Barred Plymouth Rock hen and the Rhode Island Red rooster, I have extended the life span of the melanocytes in White Plymouth Rock embryos.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Liberal Arts, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215

    ROBERT P. LANZA

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  1. ROBERT P. LANZA
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LANZA, R. Alteration of melanocytes by DNA in White Plymouth Rock chickens. Nature 252, 597–598 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252597a0

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