Comparative DNA sequence analysis of genetic variation in the African greyparrot, Psittacus erythacus

Comparative genome analysis promises to provide an insight into avian speci es that have been very little studied. To test the feasibility of this appr oach, we investigated the use of heterologous primers to generate single nu cleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the African grey parrot, Psittacus erythacu s, using primers specific for chicken and turkey DNA fragments. Three of th e primers were specific for three expressed sequence tagged sites in the tu rkey and the fourth for a chicken proteoglycan core protein-like DNA sequen ce. A total of about 2200 bp of the parrot genome was evaluated for DNA seq uence variation. Seven SNPs were identified and confirmed by Mendelian segr egation. The frequency distribution of the most common nucleotide at each S NP locus in an unrelated group of parrots ranged from 0.84 to 0.97. The per cent similarity of each parrot sequence to the reference sequence was incon sistent and ranged from zero to 100%. The primers as well as the nucleotide variants described represent valuable resources for genetic analysis in th e parrot.