Authors: Lant Jenkins, Dalyn Davis, Caleb Kratt
Mentors: Jeffery Barrow
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Currently, nematodes, fruit flies, and zebrafish are effective models for gene manipulation due to their rapid embryonic development and capacity for producing a large number of offspring. Avians such as the chicken have also served as embryonic models and have proven to be powerful tools for exploring developmental processes such as neural tube or limb development. Because of high chick fecundity, a relatively short period of development, and the accessibility of the chick embryo, the chicken would make an excellent model for gene manipulation that would significantly enhance our study of the relationship between genes and phenotypes in vertebrates. The aim of our research is to develop a line of genetically modified chicken germ cells into which new DNA vectors can be seamlessly introduced via cassette exchange. The design of the germ cells is such that the DNA vectors will be incorporated into the chicken genome at specified safe harbor locations, areas of euchromatin where the introduced DNA will not interfere with other genes. These modified germ cells can then be injected into chicken embryos and contribute to the chick’s germline. We anticipate that this model for modifying the chicken’s genome will significantly enhance our ability to introduce new DNA vectors, making the chicken a more desirable model for studying embryonic development via genetic manipulation.