Novel techniques for preserving genetic diversity in poultry germplasm.
2012
Silversides, F. G. | Liu JianAn
There have been massive losses of avian genetic material over the past several decades, partly because of a belief that cryoconservation techniques used for mammals do not work for birds. For several avian species, cryopreservation of semen may not be sufficiently efficient to use in commercial practice but the fertility it produces is fully adequate for conservation purposes. Technology around embryonic primordial germ cells, which will produce the gametes, has been used to produce transgenic birds. These cells can be isolated, cryopreserved and recovered in chimaeras but the efficiency of recovery is far too low for conservation purposes because several dozen individuals must be produced to recover the variation from the original population. Cryopreservation of avian gonads with subsequent recovery of the germline through transplantation has been demonstrated recently and should provide the ability to both cryoconserve and recover avian populations.
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