The Genetics Behind Pigeon Backflips

Did you know that at least 5 genes are involved in making parlor roller pigeons do backflips?

Tumbler pigeons, selectively bred for their tumbling behavior, exhibit intermittent somersaulting episodes during flight, with some birds known as rollers showing multiple somersaults. While they typically regain control quickly, collisions during tumbling can lead to severe injuries or fatalities, termed as "rolldown" by owners. 

The Parlor tumbler breed is an extreme case where birds tumble as soon as they try to fly.In this breed, selection for tumbling has resulted in strains that can no longer fly, but which tumble as soon as they intend to take wing. 

Atoosa Samni, a student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, joined Micheal Shapiro’s lab to investigate the phenomenon of why some pigeons (Columba livia) do backward somersaults. 

 Many Persian poems say the pigeons perform the acrobatics because the birds are happy, but Samani says the truth is darker. “This is definitely a movement disorder, and it does not have any good aspects to it,” she says. The disorder is progressive, appearing soon after hatching and gradually getting worse until the birds can’t fly.

Samani is homing in on the genes behind the backflips. At least five genes are involved in the behavior, she reported March 7 at the Allied Genetics Conference in National Harbor, Md.

Samani's research on pigeon tumbling reveals it to be a recessive trait, confirmed by breeding experiments. By breeding racing Homer pigeons with parlor rollers; none of the hybrid offspring rolled. Samani revealed when hybrid birds were bred together, about 4 out of 10 of the offspring did somersaults when forced to fly.

Samani identified five large DNA regions encompassing hundreds of genes but found no mutations directly linked to tumbling. Analyzing gene activity in the brains of parlor rollers compared to non rolling pigeons revealed nearly 2,000 genes with varying activity levels. Despite narrowing down her search to around 300 candidate genes associated with tumbling, the specific genes responsible remain unidentified.

The article itself gives more of a background into Samani and how she got introduced to genetics in Iran where she is from. It's quite remarkable and full circle to see the evolution of her interests, from studying pigeon colors in a small city  to delving into the genetic and neurological aspects of pigeon behavior by analyzing brain activity levels. I look forward to following both her current research on birds and her future endeavors in the field of genetics.

Sources:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/why-roller-pigeons-backflip-bird-animal

https://www.ufaw.org.uk/birds/pigeons-rolling-and-tumbling

Consanguinity Genetics

Nowadays many people see consanguineous (blood-related) couples as a taboo. It is illegal in many countries to marry close relatives or first degree family members, but marriage within cousins, second cousins, extended family etc, are common in many cultures. The most argued reason why consanguineous marriage should not be allowed has being the clinical consequences to the offspring. People relate this type of unions to disease and malformations, but they are misinformed about the topic.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (cousins) and 5 of their 9 children. 

Articles on human genetics note that people from a recent common ancestor have the same genetic pool, meaning that they might posses more equal genes or share genetic information. Disease, morbidity, and mortality usually come from recessive genes. With consanguineous couples there is more chances of their children being homozygous on recessive genes, or the probability of  occurrence of certain genotypes is increased. Genetic counseling is very helpful to evaluate and understand the risks of medical conditions that might be caused in a blood-related union.
We all carry recessive genes and are all at risk of having children with certain diseases. Ultimately what matters the most is the well being of your offspring; if there isn't any risk, then nothing should stop you from marrying your cousin.

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Genetic Catastrophe in a Polygamous Town

Within the heavy mormon population of Utah, there is a high occurrence of genetic disorders popping up. An article by the BBC states that this has a lot to do with the high occurrence of polygamy within the Mormon community. Recessive genes seem to pop up quite frequently, some of the most common being facial features such as a prominent forehead, low-set ears, widely spaced eyes and a small jaw. They also have cognitive and development issues resulting from the small dating pool within the community. The Utah Cancer Regency said they also are at higher risk of certain cancers that have a strong genetic component. Ironically, though, they tend to live longer due to the community's strict policies against smoking and drinking. For more information about the mormon community visit a related link: http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/utah/ci_3498536