Scientists have published a detailed analysis of the chicken genome, the biochemical "code" in the bird's cells that makes the animal what it is.

The data should help us understand better our own biology and may give us fresh insight on avian-borne diseases such as salmonella and bird flu, the article published in the Nature reads.

The International Chicken Sequencing Consortium also reports that the primary subject for the study was the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), the wild species from which domestic poultry was bred several thousand years ago. The analysis reveals that just 2.5% of the human code can be matched to chicken DNA. It is an important finding as this small portion contains genes that have been largely preserved over the 310 million years since humans and birds shared a common ancestor.

The new data may give science an insight into the genetics of resistance, something that would perhaps help researchers develop better vaccines or identify the poultry strains least likely to be susceptible to pathogens.

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