Impact of biotechnological transgenesis procedures on duck productivity

Abstract

The use of poultry as a unique model of biological research was characterised by a high level of efficiency, however, methods for creating transgenic ducks, complicated by the structure of waterfowl eggshells, are of low efficiency. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of various biotechnological procedures for creating transgenic ducks on their productive qualities and reproductive ability to identify the optimal method for creating transgenic poultry for further use in scientific, research, or economic purposes. Weighting, morphometric and statistical analysis of productive traits were used during the study. 40 ducks (4 experimental groups of animals and about 3,000 of their eggs) were studied. The lowest value of the egg productivity index was obtained in the group created by busulfan injection (79.5±11.8%), the highest – in the group created by sperm-mediated gene transfer (91.8±2.3%), the group of direct injection of transgenic construct – 89.0±2.0%, which indicates that this biotechnological method of introducing transgenic construct did not have a clear effect on this indicator. The weight of ducks in different experimental groups ranged from 1,323.50±65.36 g (using the sperm-mediated gene transfer) to 1,608.08±94.76 g (in the group created using busulfan). Ducks that received direct injections had an average weight of 1,480.42±35.01 g. In the control group, the average weight at sexual maturity was 139.5±9.67 g, in the busulfan group – 148.2±13.13 g, in the direct injection group – 143.16±7.25 g, and in the spermmediated gene transfer group – 140.67±13.13 g. It was found that the method of injection into the embryo of a recipient sterilised with busulfan and the introduction of donor blastodermal cells negatively affect the reproductive qualities of ducks. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that as a result of the analysis of the productivity of ducks obtained by various methods of transgenesis, it was determined that the most effective of the evaluated methods is the transfection of DNA of the transgenic construct with sperm (Sperm-mediated gene transfer, SMGT)

Keywords

• egg size
• egg weight
• egg productivity
• injections
• blastodermal chimera
• busulfan