Bone marrow cell-mediated production of transgenic chickens

The transplantation of adult stem cells into recipients is a method used widely in mammals to determine the fate of transferred cells, and for the production of progenies. This study is the first report, to our knowledge, to demonstrate the successful production of chickens using cells transdifferentiated from adult chicken bone marrow cells (BMCs) transplanted into the testes. BMCs from the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) transgenic (Tg) chickens were induced via in vitro transdifferentiation to male germ cells and injected into the testes of normal recipients. The multipotency of BMC was found with RT–PCR, immunocytochemistry, and FACS using specific markers, such as OCT4 and SSEA-1, -3, and -4. Localization and in vivo transdifferentiation of injected cells in the seminiferous tubules of recipients were traced for up to 40 days' post-injection by GFP expression and immunocytochemical analyses. The integration of the eGFP and the neo(R) genes in sperm gDNAs of recipient was confirmed via PCR analysis. A subsequent testcross of the recipient roosters with non-Tg hens resulted in the production of eGFP Tg progenies, demonstrating the successful transdifferentiation of the adult BMC to the germ cells in the testis. Therefore, we suggest that the use of adult BMCs is a new and promising approach to the production of Tg poultry, and may prove helpful in the study of avian developmental biology.