Foram estimadas repetibilidades (r) e herdabilidades (h²) de características reprodutivas de três populações de galinhas para corte do Setor de Aves da ESALQ/USP Piracicaba, SP. Cento e quinze galinhas foram inseminadas segundo um esquema hierárquico, com sêmen de 23 galos amostrados das populações I, II e III no experimento E1 e de outros 23 galos no experimento E2. Foram utilizadas quatro incubações, ou blocos, em cada experimento. Estimativas de r e h² foram obtidas dentro de experimento, pela análise de variância de médias de galinha em cada incubação. As estimativas de r da produção de ovos (POST) foram significativas (P<0,01) e iguais a 0,19±0,05 e 0,32±0,04 nos experimentos E1 e E2, respectivamente. Quanto a eclodibilidade (ECLOD), as h² estimadas de componentes de variância de galos foram 0,14±0,14 no E1 (P>0,05) e 0,26±0,17 no E2 (P<0,05). No tocante a nascimento de pintos (NASC), as h² estimadas (P<0,05) foram 0,18±0,15 (E1) e 0,26±0,17 (E2). No entanto, h² estimadas com base em componentes de fêmea foram significativas (P<0,01) e maiores: no tocante a ECLOD, as estimativas foram 0,77±0,09 e 0,48±0,20 no experimento E1 e E2, respectivamente, e 0,58±0,21 e 0,48±0,20 quanto a nascimento (NASC). Os resultados confirmam que ECLOD e NASC apresentam variabilidade genética aditiva baixa.

Repeatability (r) and heritability (h²) for reproductive traits were estimated from three meat-type chicken populations. One hundred and fifteen females were inseminated with semen of 23 males from three populations under a hierarchical mating system in a first experiment (E1) and with other 23 males in a second experiment (E2). Four hatches, or blocks, were produced for each experiment. Estimates of r and h² were obtained by analyses of variance among males, and among females within males within populations and experiments, performed with averages per hen in each hatch. Repeatabilities for egg production (POST) were significant (P<0.01) and equal to 0.19±0.05 and 0.32±0.04 in experiments E1 and E2 respectively. For hatchability of fertile eggs (ECLOD), the h² estimated from male components were 0.14±0.14 (P>0.05) and 0.26±0.17 (P<0.05). For hatchability of all eggs set (NASC), the h² (P<0.05) based on male components were equal to 0.18±0.15 (E1) and 0.26±0.17 (E2). The h² estimated from dam components were larger and significant (P<0.01). The dam estimates for ECLOD were 0.77±0.09 and 0.48±0.20 for E1 and E2 respectively, and for NASC, 0.58±0.21 (E1) and 0.48±0.20 (E2). The results confirm that ECLOD and NASC tend to present low additive genetic variability.

Three egg-type stocks segregating dwarf (dw) and bantam (dwB) genes in female progeny were produced from the same 18 heterozygous (dwB/dw) sires used to inseminate dams of three different genotypes: normal (dw+), dwarf (dw) and bantam (dwB) dams. The heritability of 8-week body weight estimated from full-sibs of the same phenotype of progeny was 0.40, and that estimated from paternal half-sibs of the same phenotype (dwarf or bantam), and from the same genotype of dam was 0.38. Therefore, maternal and non-additive effects within genotypic classes of dam made little contribution to the genetic variance for 8-week body weight among their progeny. The interaction of sires (S) with genotypes (dw+, dw and dwB) of dam (G) was significant at the 5% level. This indicates that the rankings of the sires within each one of the three genotypes of dam were not the same, probably due to non-additive genetic variation among genotypes of dams. The evidence indicated that in general the genes from individual sires combined differently with each type of dam (G). Those genes which combined well with the genes from normal (dw+) dams combined poorly with both the genes from the dwarf (dw) and the genes from the bantam (dwB) dams. The interaction of sires (S) with phenotypes (dwarf and bantam) of progeny (P) was significant at the 10% level. The results indicated a probable gene x genotype interaction for 8-week weight between genes at the dwarf locus (dw and dwB) and the background genotype (single and/or polygenes). The correlation among paternal half-sibs was influenced more by the S x G than by the S x P interaction, but the effects tended to be cumulative

Neste trabalho descreve-se a obtenção de seis plantéis experimentais, segregantes para os alelos ligados ao sexo, dwarf (dw), bantam (dwB) e normal (dw+), em galinhas para ovos. Comparações entre desempenhos entre plantéis hemizigóticos para genes maiores no locus dwarf também foram efetuadas com relação a comprimento de canela medida na 16ª semana de idade, peso do corpo adulto, produção de ovos e maturidade sexual. Machos heterozigotos (K dw+/ k dwB) foram acasalados com fêmeas normais (dw+) e com fêmeas bantam (dwB). As progênies fêmeas, nos referidos acasalamentos, foram denominadas de D6.a e D6.b, respectivamente. Galos 7/8 Sebright e 1/8 dw-Leghorn heterozigotos (dwB dw) foram acasalados com três grupos de galinhas de diferentes genótipos (dw+, dw e dwB). As progênies das mães normais (dw+), dwarf (dw) e bantam (dwB) foram denominadas de plantéis D4.b, D4.c e D4.d, respectivamente. As seguintes conclusões foram relatadas: a) a redução no peso corporal adulto de fêmeas dwarf, em todos os plantéis, em relação a fêmeas bantam, foi menor que a relatada em relação a galinhas normais do tipo ovo; b) a diferença entre a taxa de postura de galinhas normais e suas irmãs bantam não foi estatisticamente significativa em fêmeas dw+ (filhas de mães dw+), pesando 1897 g. Porém, em galinhas dwB com peso médio de 1646 g (filhas de mães dwB), a diferença entre a taxa de postura de galinhas normais e de suas irmãs bantam foi significativa (P < 0,05). Portanto, o alelo dwB pode ter um efeito semelhante, porém menor sobre a taxa de postura do que seu alelo dwarf; c) a diferença entre maturidade sexual de galinhas normais e bantam, filhas de mães maiores ou menores, não foi estatisticamente significativa, muito embora a postura do primeiro ovo tenha ocorrido 2,9 dias mais tarde em frangas dwB menores; d) o comprimento de canela associado ao peso adulto possibilitou a discriminação precisa entre bantams e dwarfs.

The present study describes the production of stocks segregating dwarf (dw), bantam (dwB) and normal (dw+) alleles, as well as the characters, shank length, adult body weight, age at sexual maturity and egg production. Heterozygous K dw+/k dwB sires were mated to normal (dw+) dams to produce stock D6.a, and mated to dwB females to produce stock D6.b. Stock D4.a came from mating F1 heterozygous dwB dw sires to dwarf Leghorns. In a third series of matings, 7/8 Sebright and 1/8 dw-Leghorn dwB dw sires were crossed to three groups of dams of different genotypes. The progeny of the normal (dw+), dwarf (dw), and bantam (dwB) dams were designated as stocks D4.b, D4.c and D4.d, respectively. The dw+ dams were White Leghorn strain cross females. The difference between the rate of laying of normal (69.7%) and their bantam sisters (68.6%) was not statistically significant when the average 32-week body weight of the dw+ sisters was 1,897 g. However, when the 32-week body weight of the normal daughters from the same sires and smaller dams was around 1,646 g, the difference between the rate of laying of the normal (78.1%) and their bantam sisters (75.9%) was significant (P < 0.05). The dwB gene may have a similar but smaller effect on the rate of egg laying than its dwarf allele. The difference between sexual maturity of normal and bantam daughters of either the largest or the smallest dams was not statistically significant, even though the smallest dwB pullets were in average 2.9 days older at first egg. The use of shank length combined with adult body weight allowed a precise discrimination between bantams and dwarfs