title: Perspectives on avian stem cells for poultry breeding.
abstract: Stem cells have prulipotency to differentiate into many types of cell lineages. Recent progress of avian biotechnology enabled us to analyze the developmental fate of the stem cells: embryonic stem cells / primordial germ cells (PGCs). The stem cells were identified in the central area of the area pellucida of the stage X blastoderms. These cells could be applied for production of germline chimeras and organ regeneration. Generation of medical substrate in transgenic chickens has considerable interests in pharmaceuticals. Sex alteration of the offspring should be enormously beneficial to the poultry industry. Fertilization of the sex-reversed sperm could lead to sexual alteration of the offspring. These strategies using stem cells / PGCs should be one of the most powerful tools for future poultry breeding.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Developmental Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, Minamiminowa, Nagano, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kagami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D001756:Blastoderm / Q000166:cytology; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002645:Chickens; D002678:Chimera; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012038:Regeneration; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D012744:Sex Ratio; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology
keywords: chicken; poultry breeding; primordial germ cells; stem cells