title: Long term-cultured and cryopreserved primordial germ cells from various chicken breeds retain high proliferative potential and gonadal colonisation competency.
abstract: When derived from chicken embryos, avian primordial germ cells (PGCs) have been reported to keep their germline-specific properties and proliferative potential even after long-term culture and genetic modifications. Few teams to date have reported such long-term expansion and engineering without differentiation of primary avian PGCs' cultures. We have developed original and robust methods that allow more than 1 year culture, expansion and cryobanking of primary cultures of PGCs without obvious effects on their biological properties, including their ability to colonise the genital ridges. Overall, 38% of embryonic samples gave rise to PGCs lines derived from three commercial layers and two Belgian endangered breeds. The lines kept their proliferative potential and their characteristic PGCs phenotype after 20 months in culture, whether or not interrupted by a cryopreservation step. All the resulting lines appeared devoid of female cells, although initially pooled from male and female embryos. Labelled PGCs from 12 long-term cultured lines colonised the genital ridges of recipient embryos. Thus, this procedure allows derivation, long-term expansion and cryobanking of primary cultures of PGCs without obvious changes to their original characteristics, providing an alternative access to applications in avian biotechnology and preservation of genetic resources.
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, FARAH (Fundamental and Applied Research in Animal Health) Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tonus
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, FARAH (Fundamental and Applied Research in Animal Health) Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cloquette
authors.affiliation: Transgenic facility, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ectors
authors.affiliation: Histology Unit, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joëlle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piret
authors.affiliation: Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gillet
authors.affiliation: Histology Unit, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Antoine
authors.affiliation: Pathology Unit, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Desmecht
authors.affiliation: Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, FARAH Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vanderplasschen
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, FARAH (Fundamental and Applied Research in Animal Health) Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Waroux
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, FARAH (Fundamental and Applied Research in Animal Health) Research Center and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 20 Boulevard de Colonster, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grobet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000662:veterinary*; D056727:Endangered Species; D005260:Female; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation; D006066:Gonads / Q000196:embryology*; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis / Q000662:veterinary; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers