Effect of Transfer Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) into Chick Gonad

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) of white leghorn Maria line hens embryos as a donor were transferred white leghorn Laura line hens embryos as a recipient. During stage 12 to 15 of incubating fertilized eggs, donor PGCs which were taken out from blood vessels of donor embryos, were transferred into blood vessels of recipient embryos at the same stage. At 15 days of incubation, survival rate of the treated embryos was 35.7% when the PGCs were transferred into the same sex of donor and recipient embryos (homo-sexual) and 38.8% into antagonistic sex ones (hetero-sexual) respectively. Although the gonad of embryos which were transferred PCGs homo-sexually were developed normally, morphological and histological abnormalities were formed in the gonad derived with hetero-sexually transfer. The abnormalities of gonad were observed in 8 out of 33 samples transferred PCGs from male to female and 12 out of 49 from female to male respectively. Size of male right gonad was degenerated and flat sexual cords were observed. The gonads of germ line chimric chicken was detected donor derived DNA polymorphism to genetic diagnosis by LEI92 of microsatellite marker. These results suggest that hetero-sexual transfer of PGCs may influence gonadal development early-stage embryos.