The Genetic Control of Chick Comb and Oviduct Response to Androgen and Estrogen

Abstract

THE relative sensitivity of the comb and oviduct of chicks from different strains to synthetic androgen and estrogen treatment, respectively, has been studied by only a few investigators. Dorfman and Dorfman (1948a) in their work on the bioassay of hormones, using chick combs from three different breeds of fowls as test organs, reported that different levels of androgen are necessary for different breeds and for different sexes in the same breed to bring about significant stimulation of the comb. These same workers (Dorfman and Dorfman, 1948b) reported the comparative sensitivity of oviducts of chicks from four breeds to estrogen treatment. Using Plymouth Rock-New Hampshire crossbred, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and White Plymouth Rock chicks injected with the same dosage of stilbestrol dissolved in corn oil, these workers found no great differences in oviduct sensitivity to stilbestrol.Since the chick comb and oviduct are commonly used as test organs in .