Conservation of a Genetically Selected Broiler Line (42L)Using Cryopreserved Circulating Primordial Germ Cells (PGCS) Isolated by Filtration Method

A genetically selected broiler line (42L) developed at the Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA was used in the present study. In Experiment 1, embryonic blood was collected from chick embryos at stage 14-15 (Hamburger and Hamilton, 1951). Collected blood was suspended in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and suspended blood sample was filtered using a nylon filter with 10 micrometer mesh opening. The number of PGC was measured before and after filtration and recovery rate was 39.4±6.5% (mean±sem).In Experiment 2, the viability of the filter-isolated frozen/thawed PGCs from a genetically selected broiler line (42L) was tested by transferring them into blood stream of the 2-day-old Brown Leghorn embryo.When semen from the male PGC recipient was tested on six different hens, 33% of a total of 216 chicks were derived from transferred PGCs. When the two female recipients received semen, 52% of the total of 21 chicks was derived from transferred PGCs. The results obtained in the present experiment indicate that it is possible to conserve poultry genetic resources using frozen/thawed circulating PGCs collected by a filtration method