| Arlequim - Study of Color |
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| Written by Prof. Armando Moreno |
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The Portuguese Arlequim Canary is not only the first Portuguese breed canaries. Besides being a slender bird, which all admire, contains in itself surprising gifts that allow for various scientific studies of practical consequences in the creation of all the canaries.
These three characteristics were selected: the study of the distribution of colors in the feathers of melanocytic serinus, work already performed, the study of genetic origin and spares, which is being undertaken at present and, finally, the study of the relationship between size the head and body of serinus, study important for getting you save more exuberant.
Of these three studies, the first is completed and the second, the origin and genetic saves, is under implementation.
In this paragraph we will report on progress achieved on the distribution of melanocytic colors.
The study of coloration of birds is divided into two main areas:
1 - Distribution of staining of each individual
2 - Transmission of characteristics from parents to children (Genetics)
In turn, the distribution of color have to consider two situations:
1.1 - Distribution in feathers
1.2 - Distribution somatic, that is, the body of the bird.
Distribution in the penalty is not the same as you consider the flight feathers (large wing feathers), the rectrizes (large tail feathers) or tectrices (small body feathers).
In the latter, responsible for the coloration of the bird's body, one has to consider three key areas:
1 - Deep Zone
2 - Zona superficial
3 - Zona added
The latter does not exist in all birds.
The characteristics of these areas depend on the chemical nature of phenomena that is not the place to develop. Also the display of color depends on factors of physical origin, reflection and refraction of light that does not apply to our study.
The deep zone is the most stable and is genetically fixed, not linked to sex. It emerges clearly that in all birds lipochrome and dark in all melanocytic birds.
It should be noted that in certain birds lipochrome, there are dark spots that can reach only the deep zone, giving rise therefore to raise the light pens, a dark background.
The surface area varies with the pigmentation and is more directly responsible for the coloration of the bird.
The area added only arises in birds diluted (schimmel) since the intensive do not.
It is also a feature of genetic transmission and, originally, in the case of serinus, not related to sex, determining the emergence of two major divisions:
1 - Birds of plumage intensive
2 - Birds of plumage diluted
Later, with the introduction of the hybrid through CARDINALITE of Venezuela (Spinus cuculatus) was to be a third situation: the mosaic.
The characteristics of each of these situations are known.
The framework is thus established:
1 - Birds of plumage intensive
2 - Birds of plumage diluted
3 - Birds of feather mosaic or dimorphic
As you know, initially only females transmitted the characteristic mosaic. Later it passed to the males, but the distribution of spots was always related to sex, although there are examples of great design approach. Later comes the new mosaic type and finally changed the name to dimorphic.
Even for the distribution of the color of the pen, must be considered that the existence of two or three areas of genetic transmission is in regard to the deep zone, as we have seen, is more fixed. The total disappearance of pigmentation in this area arises only in animals lipochrome but it must be noted that the total depigmentation occurs only in birds with red eyes. In fact, a white canary dark eyes is perceived by hibridologistas as a bird merged since both melanin in their eyes. Hence the creators of hybrids of goldfish seeking hybrids having to clear intersections with red-eye canary. However, it should be noted that there are no birds without pigments, because this is incompatible with life. The blood has a pigment, hemoglobin, essential for oxygenation. Moreover, certain pigments acids (lipochrome) are pre-vitamins, this is giving rise to vitamins, essential to life, without which the higher animals can not live. That is why, in a development phase where there is still no arrival of food pigments, there must be a yellow substance available, it is what happens in the egg. Everyone knows that the egg yolk is yellow, but why? I could never be white, otherwise the bird does not develop for lack of pigment.
As is known, the stripping of the surface region of the sentence was obtained first by mutation of the Harz canary, the result of breeding in a tight, since this type of farming is the ideal choice for the corner. It is known that the mating of birds successively darker rise suddenly, a depigmentation that resulted in the Opal. Although it is accepted that the Agate resulted from an initial dilution by the same process, some, due to the existence of his mustache, which was obtained by crossing with Mozambique in the Canary (Serinus moçambicus). The mutation of melanin pigmentation has prevented the achievement of Canaries totally black, which can only be achieved by hybridization.
As we have seen, the distribution of the mosaic is fixed, ie, genes that convey this feature are located in the same places where the genetic chain, being different on the X chromosome and chromosome.
Now the distribution of Mozaico not affect only the area added the sentence, also dragging the surface area lipochrome that thus is also a zone genetically fixed.
The same is not true for the distribution of genes for fixing melanin, by its chemical composition, are not constrained by the area added the penalty. Thus, a bird presents mixed or diluted whole or any intensive, regardless of body parts are pigmented or not.
As a result, areas of melanin pigmentation are not fixed, either genetically or phenotypically.
What can be fixed by selection of successive creations, is the number of pigmented spots and their area, but this characteristic is linked to sex. Because most variables, this can also be fixed after many years of selection. It is for this reason that the wild birds, like the canary in Mozambique, has the design and distribution of melanins in certain locations of the body.Nature had millions of years to establish the genotype. Hence, the setting of spots or even their appearance may arise by crossing a bird with a lipochrome melanin, as is often the case, appearing at fairs birds that seem to line of Arlequim. But lose the characteristics of a second generation since there is no genetic change. You need a selection continued to fix the melanocytic characteristics.
Due to the difficulties of fixing the location of melanin pigmentation is that it was abandoned poultry symmetrical. But the Arlequim is not required this feature: it is a bird in which the pigment is fixed lipochrome melanin pigmentation but are not required fixed locations, but has specific genes of quantity and area, which can be fixed. This is the big key to the creation of Arlequim.
The lability of melanocytic genes do appear in certain birds clear, dark areas, especially in the head by genetic inheritance of CARDINALITE of Venezuela. They are the best birds for breeding because they are genetically closer to the original mosaic. Moreover, these were the characteristics of melanin pigments that allow the creation of mosaics dark.
Birds also arise mosaic with dark spots in the deep layer of feathers, a result of the heterogeneity of the location of melanin.
Until a few decades ago, it was thought that the genetic make-up was unchanged until Maclintok Barbara, Nobel laureate in Medicine, discovered by studying the breeding of corn, which can interfere with the genetic organization, changing the genes, removing some and putting others. The practice has this great discovery, and is now used in the cure of various genetic diseases.
As regards birds, there are asymmetric birds (Diamond Gold, Mandarins, Canaries mosaic ...) resulting from the combination of abnormal genes, one half of the body of one sex (XX) and half the other (XY) sex .
It is worth mentioning in this study, the case of the canary Save German. It is, as you know, a canary-sized but that does not allow mixing of lipochrome and melanin, and the bird should be uniform, without spots, which does not happen with other breeds of businesses. The Arlequim is to undo this anachronism, allowing the creation of very beautiful variegated birds.
As we see, the creation of the Harley is not only aim to create a Portuguese breed of canaries: it allows to extend the genetic studies in a way that had never been achieved so far. Otherwise, see:
The study of the distribution of colors and melanocytic lipochrome can only be done in its full complexity, the Portuguese Arlequim, since only this bird is a mixture of colors that allow the study.
Of the studies that took effect on getting the following conclusions about the deposition of spots in melanocytic finch:
1 - The light pens tend to arise in the tail
2 - The dark feathers tend to arise in the head
3 - The distribution in the womb, dark feathers when there is high belly darker underbelly clearer
4 - Trend of the flight feathers of the wing tip and lighter internal darker.
5 - There are of course linked to the local color melam: eyes
6 - There are places that appears most often to lipocromação: tail
7 - There are places of melanin and lipo mixture: scales of the feet, nails, beak.
8 - Moving the animal to successively more melanin lipochrome evolution is:
Tip: black becomes clear with traces of pencil, is the clear
Feet: black, becomes spotted, is the clear
Sentencing: prevalence melanin becomes balanced, is the predominance lipochrome. In this modification the first to lose melanin is the tail and the last the top of the head. (An exception to the Lizard that was selected in another sense)
9 - The location of melanin and lipo is location independent, not interfering with each other.
This study was done by creating the Portuguese Arlequim Canary over 11 years, crossing each other canaries and its junction with the CARDINALITE Venezuela's canary of Mozambique, and the singer of Africa. Observed also 1. 800 birds, including canaries and their hybrids.
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