Generation of a transgenic chicken line with reporters for limb bud mesenchyme and apical ectodermal ridge cells

Yuji Atsuta; Yi-Chen Chen; Yuna Hattori; Tatsuya Takemoto; Daisuke Saito

doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.003

Generation of a transgenic chicken line with reporters for limb bud mesenchyme and apical ectodermal ridge cells

Dev Biol. 2025 Jan 8:520:53-61. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.003. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yuji Atsuta¹, Yi-Chen Chen², Yuna Hattori³, Tatsuya Takemoto⁴, Daisuke Saito³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan. Electronic address: atsuta.yuji.360@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
² Division of Research and Development, Setsuro Tech Inc., Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.
³ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
⁴ Division of Research and Development, Setsuro Tech Inc., Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan; Institute for Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.

PMID: 39788366
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.003

Abstract

Cell type-specific reporter transgenic chicken lines are invaluable tools in developmental biology, allowing the visualization of dynamics and differentiation states of target cell types in living embryos. Here, we report the establishment of a new transgenic chicken line in which limb mesenchyme and apical ectodermal ridge (AER) cells are labeled with different fluorescent proteins in the embryos. The processes for generating the reporter line involved using tissue-specific promoters, the Tol2 transposon-mediated genomic integration, and clonal culture system of primordial germ cells. Employing the transgenic chickens would facilitate the detailed characterization of limb mesenchyme and AER cells. Thus, this reporter chicken line will be a powerful tool for advancing the study of vertebrate limb development.

Keywords: Apical ectodermal ridge; Limb development; Limb mesenchyme; Primordial germ cells; Tol2 transposon; Transgenic chicken.