The Development of Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) and Testis in the
Quail Embryo
G. B. Chang, R. Chen, Y. R. Qin, Y. Zhang, A. Q. Dai and G. H. Chen*
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University,
Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
*Corresponding author:
passioncgb@163.com
Abstract
Histological methods were conducted to detect the development of quail
primordial germ cells (PGCs), the pattern of gonads differentiation and
different characteristics of testis structure at various developmental stages.
We found that on day 4 of post-incubation, all PGCs migrated to gonad ridge and
formed undifferentiated gonads; on day 5 the gonads differentiated into testis
or ovary. On day 7 to 9 of post-incubation, the morphological characteristics of
testis were distinguished, subse- quently testicular cord appeared and the PGCs
differentiated into spermatogonium on day 10. On day 12 of post-incubation,
spermatogonia seemed like clusters of grape or chain in the middle of
convoluted seminiferous tubule; simultaneously, a few of
sustentacular cells and vascular were developed for filling into the testis
lumen. Then on day 15, the seminiferous tubule become thicker and the amount of
spermatogonia increased by mitosis. Finally, on hatch day (day 17), the testis
almost be mature with numerous mesenchymal cells, connective tissue, vascular
and clear and intensive seminiferous tubules. These results can lay data for
future studies on sex determination mechanism and the more utilization of PGCs
in poultry.