Production of viable chicken by allogeneic transplantation of primordial germ cells induced from somatic cells

Ruifeng Zhao; Qisheng Zuo; Xia Yuan; Kai Jin; Jing Jin; Ying Ding; Chen Zhang; Tingting Li; Jingyi Jiang; Jiancheng Li; Ming Zhang; Xiang Shi; Hongyan Sun; Yani Zhang; Qi Xu; Guobin Chang; Zhenhua Zhao; Bing Li; Xinsheng Wu; Yang Zhang; Jiuzhou Song; Guohong Chen; Bichun Li

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23242-5

Production of viable chicken by allogeneic transplantation of primordial germ cells induced from somatic cells

Nat Commun. 2021 May 20;12(1):2989. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23242-5.

Authors

Ruifeng Zhao^#^{1

2}, Qisheng Zuo^#^{1

2}, Xia Yuan^#^{1

2}, Kai Jin^#^{1

2}, Jing Jin^{1

2}, Ying Ding^{1

2}, Chen Zhang^{1

2}, Tingting Li^{1

2}, Jingyi Jiang^{1

2}, Jiancheng Li^{1

2}, Ming Zhang^{1

2}, Xiang Shi^{1

2}, Hongyan Sun^{1

2}, Yani Zhang^{1

2}, Qi Xu^{1

2}, Guobin Chang^{1

2}, Zhenhua Zhao³, Bing Li³, Xinsheng Wu^{1

2}, Yang Zhang^{1

2}, Jiuzhou Song⁴, Guohong Chen^{5

6}, Bichun Li^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding Reproduction and Molecular Design for Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
² Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
³ The Poultry Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding Reproduction and Molecular Design for Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. ghchen@yzu.edu.cn.
⁶ Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. ghchen@yzu.edu.cn.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding Reproduction and Molecular Design for Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. yubcli@yzu.edu.cn.
⁸ Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. yubcli@yzu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The allogeneic transplantation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) derived from somatic cells overcomes the limitation of avian cloning. Here, we transdifferentiate chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) from black feathered Langshan chickens to PGCs and transplant them into White Plymouth Rock chicken embryos to produce viable offspring with characteristics inherited from the donor. We express Oct4/Sox2/Nanog/Lin28A (OSNL) to reprogram CEFs to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are further induced to differentiate into PGCs by BMP4/BMP8b/EGF. DNA demethylation, histone acetylation and glycolytic activation elevate the iPSC induction efficiency, while histone acetylation and glycolytic inhibition facilitate PGCs formation. The induced PGCs (iPGCs) are transplanted into the recipients, which are self-crossed to produce 189/509 somatic cells derived chicken with the donor's characteristics. Microsatellite analysis and genome sequencing confirm the inheritance of genetic information from the donor. Thus, we demonstrate the feasibility of avian cloning from somatic cells.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

Animal Husbandry / methods
Animals
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 / genetics
Cell Transdifferentiation / genetics*
Cells, Cultured
Chick Embryo / cytology
Chickens
Cloning, Organism / methods*
Epidermal Growth Factor / genetics
Feasibility Studies
Fibroblasts / physiology
Germ Cells / physiology
Germ Cells / transplantation*
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / physiology*
Nanog Homeobox Protein / genetics
Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / genetics
RNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
SOXB1 Transcription Factors / genetics
Transplantation, Homologous / methods

Substances

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4
Nanog Homeobox Protein
Octamer Transcription Factor-3
RNA-Binding Proteins
SOXB1 Transcription Factors
Epidermal Growth Factor