New Method Developed to Conserve and Regenerate Avian Genetic Resources

Japan's National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science (NILGS), National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, and Shinshu University Faculty of Agriculture announced on December 10, 2010, that their joint research team had successfully developed a novel method for extracting and conserving the genetic resources of birds, including chickens.

Methods for permanent storage of genetic resources from birds have already been developed in the collecting and freezing of primordial germ cells (PGCs) -- the progenitor cells that produce sperm or eggs -- taken from developing chicken embryos, but they often fail in a number of ways, for example, in continuation of incubation because of damage to embryos in the cell collection process.

The newly developed method takes an innovative approach, taking advantage of certain characteristics of avian PGCs, which temporarily circulate throughout the blood of an embryo. Researchers collect blood while still keeping the chicken embryo alive, and then cryo-preserve the separated PGSs. The technique means it is also possible to preserve genetic resources in the form of living collections, by returning the embryo to the incubator in order to hatch after collecting the avian PGCs.

Using this method, the team also succeeded in re-introducing a local breed of chicken called Gifu Jidori, a protected species in Japan, by transferring the PGCs of a local chicken into the fertilized eggs of white leghorn chickens as surrogate parents and then mating the matured parents. As this makes it possible to conserve genetic resources and take full advantage of a limited number of precious embryos, the new method has promising potential for preserving not only poultry but also endangered and rare species of birds.

Gene Bank for Trees Launches Gene Rescue Service (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/025503.html

Posted: 2011/05/07 06:00:15 AM