Chicken embryonic stem cells

摘要 鸡及其胚胎为发育生物学的研究提供了一个有价值的研究模型， 人类疾病。然而，由于缺乏遗传学工具，它们的应用受到很大限制。 改造鸡和其他鸟类物种。最近，我们已经开发了用于衍生生殖系的方法， 鸡的胚胎干细胞（ESCs）。胚系感受态鸡胚胎干细胞的可获得性 为生产转基因鸡开辟了一条新的途径。在这个项目中，我们建议建立 一个基于ESC的平台，用于有效产生鸡生殖系嵌合体（Aim 1）。我们还将优化 从鸡ESC产生原始生殖细胞（PGCs）的方法。这些鸡胚胎干细胞衍生的 PGCs将用于生产转基因鸡（目标2）。在目标3中，通过利用 鸡ESC的培养条件我们已经建立，我们将制定方法用于诱导代 来自鸡胚胎成纤维细胞的多能干细胞（iPSC）。圆满完成这三个目标 将为鸟类研究界提供一个强大的遗传工具包，用于生产转基因和 基因靶向鸟类物种和濒危鸟类物种的保护。

Abstract Chickens and their embryos provide a valuable research model for the study of developmental biology and human diseases. However, their application has been greatly limited due to the lack of tools to genetically modify chickens and other avian species. Recently, we have developed methods for the derivation of germline competent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from chickens. The availability of germline competent chicken ESCs opens up a new avenue for producing genetically engineered chickens. In this project, we propose to establish an ESC-based platform for the efficient generation of chicken germline chimeras (Aim 1). We will also optimize methods for the generation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) from chicken ESCs. These chicken ESC-derived PGCs will be used to produce genetically modified chickens (Aim 2). In Aim 3, by taking the advantage of the chicken ESC culture condition we have established, we will develop methods for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from chicken embryonic fibroblasts. Successful completion of these three aims will provide the avian research community with a powerful genetic toolkit for the production of transgenic and gene-targeted avian species and for the conservation of endangered avian species.