HEREDITARY MULTIPLE MALFORMATION IN JAPANESE-QUAIL - A POSSIBLE POWERFUL ANIMAL-MODEL FOR MORPHOGENETIC STUDIES

Hereditary multiple malformation (HMM), a new mutation of Japanese qua il (Coturnix japonica), is controlled by an autosomal recessive gene. The proposed gene symbol for the mutant gene is hmm. The majority of t he homozygotes die at the sixth day of incubation, and the remainder d ie at various stages by 15 days of incubation. The homozygotes survivi ng to the late embryonic stage have greatly shortened lower and upper beaks that are set apart and show an early embryo-like body shape, wit h feather buds but no plumules. Furthermore, they show syndactylous po lydactyly in both fore and hind limbs. In the abdomen of the homozygot e, a part of the ventriculus, liver, and small intestine protrudes out of the umbilicus region, In the skeleton of the late HMM embryos, oss ification is generally delayed and morphogenetic abnormalities are obs erved all over the body. This mutant seems to become a powerful animal model in the research fields for morphogenesis.