Poultry science professor Ron Okimoto studies genes of economic importance in chickens in hopes of eliminating certain diseases and undesirable traits poultry destined for the dinner table. Chicken Ron Okimoto, assistant professor of poultry science, locates genes in the chicken genome that may be of potential economic importance.
Chickens are a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States, nothing to cluck at.
Okimoto's research ranges from feather color and pigmentation to genetic markers for disease. Okimoto wants to isolate the feather color genes to determine which ones turn pigmentation on and off. The feather color genes alone represent a morass of nucleic acids, but Okimoto and other researchers seek the genes in areas known to harbor similar sequences in humans and mice to narrow down the possibilities. He is currently comparing genes such as SCF of different colored chickens to determine the similarities and differences of the genes known to be involved in regulating melanocyte development in mice and humans. The virus often causes problems in breeding barns, and is endemic to the chicken population.