This report is on Electrochemistry for Gordon Conference

We describe a genetic variation map for the chicken genome containing 2.8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), based on a comparison of the sequences of 3 domestic chickens (broiler, layer, Silkie) to their wild ancestor Red Jungle Fowl (RJF). Subsequent experiments indicate that at least 90% are true SNPs, and at least 70% are common SNPs that segregate in many domestic breeds. Mean nucleotide diversity is about 5 SNP/kb for almost every possible comparison between RJF and domestic lines, between two different domestic lines, and within domestic lines--contrary to the idea that domestic animals are highly inbred relative to their wild ancestors. In fact, most of the SNPs originated prior to domestication, and there is little to no evidence of selective sweeps for adaptive alleles on length scales of greater than 100 kb.