Summary of feral gene pool comparisons
Analyses of Bermuda’s feral chickens (and comparisons to counterparts on
Kauai) revealed both unique and common features of independently feralG. gallus in the Atlantic vs. Pacific regions. Admixture
analyses suggest the two feral populations originate from genetically
similar colonization source(s), yet they also show asymmetrical signals
of recent gene flow and selection. Bermudian feral chickens appeared to
have more similarity to broiler and brown layer populations, whilst
Hawaiian feral chickens had introgression from White Layer birds (or
their ancestors). Hawaiian feral birds also had more introgression from
Red Junglefowl (the source of domesticated chickens) in comparison to
their feral Bermuda counterparts. These findings mirror what we know of
the two feral population histories, with large numbers of White Layers
released by the Asagi hatchery in Hawaii following tropical storms and
attendant opportunity for introgression from the Red Junglefowl already
present in the Hawaiian islands.