An Attempt at Fusing Primordial Germ Cell with Embryonic Blood Cell in Chickens Using Inactivated Sendai Virus or Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

In order to produce nuclear transferred PGCs, fusion of primordial germ cell (PGC) with embryonic blood cell (EBC) was attempted. PGCs and EBCs were isolated from the blood of stages 13-15 embryos. The collected PGCs and EBCs were mixed, and fusion of these cells was carried out using inactivated Sendai virus (HVJ) or electrical stimulation. PGC-EBC fused cells were identified by the morphology and difference in size of the two nuclei. The mean fusion rate of PGC with EBC was 0.96% using inactivated HVJ and 5.2% using electrical stimulation. The present results provide useful information for nuclear transfer in PGCs.

Keywords

• cell fusion
• electrical stimulation
• embryonic blood cell
• hvj
• primordial germ cell