Lab: Guojun Sheng

Paper information

Title:

Derivation of embryonic stem cells across avian species

Xi Chen^*,Zheng Guo,Xinyi Tong,Xizi Wang,Xugeng Liu,Hiroki Nagai,Ping Wu,Jiayi Lu,David Huss,Martin Tran,Carol Readhead,　Christina Wu,Lin Cao,Yixin Huang,Zhaohan Zeng,Fan Feng,Nima Adhami,Sirjan Mor,Rusty Lansford,Cheng-Ming Chuong,Guojun Sheng, Carlos Lois,Qi-Long Ying^* . (* co-first author）

Current Biology 30 Sept 2025

doi: 10.1038/s41587-025-02833-3

URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02833-3

Highlights

• Culture condition to maintain avian embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in vitro is reported;
• Similar condition is applicable for deriving ESCs in all avian species;
• Avian ESCs are capable of contributing to somatic and germline lineages;
• This work lays the foundation for future applications of stem cell biology in avian genetic engineering and conservation

Abstract:

Germline-competent embryonic stem (ES) cells have been successfully derived from mice and rats, but not from other species. Here we report the development of culture conditions for deriving ES cells from chickens and seven other avian species. Chicken ES cells express core pluripotency markers and can differentiate into cells of all embryonic germ layers, as well as extra-embryonic lineages. Notably, chicken ES cells contribute to high rates of chimerism when injected into chicken embryos and give rise to germ cells both in vitro and in ovo, confirming their germline competence. In addition, we demonstrated that ES cell self-renewal pathways are conserved among avian species, allowing ES cells from multiple avian species to be established using optimized chicken ES cell culture conditions. The establishment of authentic avian ES cells lays the groundwork for future applications in genetic engineering and the conservation of avian biodiversity.