Expression Analysis of Chicken Pimordial Germ Cell Specific Genes in Male and Female Cultures

Chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) are derived from extraembryonic tissue region of the embryo. They enter the blood stream at stage 10 of development (35 hours after incubation), migrate to the genital ridges, unite with somatic tissue to form the developing gonad, and differentiate to produce sperm or ova. PGCs are considered to be a helpful tool for creation of transgenic chickens; however, their characteristics largely remain unknown. In this study, we isolated PGCs from blood after three days of incubation. PGCs were cultured without feeder cells. RNA was purified from six males and six female PGC cell lines, reverse transcribed, and cDNAs amplified with primers of germline-specific genes. Genes included chicken vasa homologue (Cvh), deleted in azoospermia (Dazl), synaptonemal complex protein (Sycp), stimulated by retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8) and chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (Sdf). These genes are all highly expressed in chicken PGCs as compared with chicken juvenile testis tissue. These results are the critical step for further identification of specific gene expression profile of chicken PGCs.