Immunoglobulin levels in chickens with inherited muscular distrophy.

Blood serum levels of 7S Ig appear to be a highly heritable (h(2)=0.76) trait. A possibly weak association of high 7S Ig with the phenotype of inherited muscular dystrophy is noted. In contrast to a previous study (Sanders and Kline 1977), our survey of 4 comparisons in paired lines showed dystrophics with slightly elevated 7S Ig levels and no differences in IgM levels when compared to controls.