Abstract
A quantitative cytofluorometric study was undertaken to test the proposition that parthenogenetic development in turkeys begins in a haploid cell and proceeds toward the development of a completely diploid embryo. Embryo cell suspensions were obtained from eggs laid by virgin Beltsville Small White (BSW) turkey hens, and the cells from individual embryos were fluorescently stained with acriflavine, which is specific for DNA. The fluorescent emissions from individual cell nuclei were analyzed on a modified Bio/Physics Cytofluorograf, Model 6300A, and DNA distributions were obtained by analyzing nearly all of the cells in embryos ranging in age from five to nine days. These distributions were compared by computer analysis to the DNA distribution of a normally produced embryo. The DNA distributions revealed that many embryos contained large proportions of haploid cells and other abnormal cells. This study of haploid cells lends further support to the proposition that parthenogenesis in turkeys originates in a haploid egg cell, and diploidization observed in embryos occurs after meiosis. It was also shown that proportions of haploid and other non‐diploid cells declined with increasing embryo age.