Veterinary Research Forum
Vet Res Forum

Ultrastructure characteristics of primordial germ cells in stage X of pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) embryo

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Entekhab Hameed Abed AL-Shuwaili 1, 2
Abolghasem Nabipour 1
Azam Hosseini 1
Hesam Dehghani 1, 3

1 Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Education for Pure Science ibn Al-Haitham, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq

3 Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Research Group, Research Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30466/vrf.2021.526558.3152
Abstract
Stage X is one of the formation stages in birds at which the blastoderm area is distinguished by two areas of area pellucida being responsible for formation of embryonic tissues and primordial germ cells, and area opaca forming the extra-embryonic tissues. Primordial germ cells are multi-potent stem cells giving rise to spermatogonia or oogonia. The present study was carried out to describe the characteristics of primordial germ cells in stage X of pheasants’ embryo using a transmission electron microscope. The blastoderm was dissected out from embryos which were already incubated for 12 hr. Toluidine blue was used for staining semi-thin sections; lead citrate and uranyl acetate were also used to stain ultra-thin sections. Images of primordial germ cells elucidated that the nucleus was situated eccentrically and had a compact spherical structure. Moreover, the nucleolus appeared elongated and was located eccentrically. The cytoplasm was composed of yolk granules and glycogen particles. Mitochondria were observed as round structures in the cytoplasm. The most important finding was that the primordial germ cells contained yolk granules, mitochondria and small amount of glycogen at this stage.

Keywords

Germ cells
Pheasant embryo
Stage X
Transmission electron microscope
Ultrastructural study
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Veterinary Research Forum
Volume 13, Issue 4
Autumn 2022
Pages 521-527

  • Receive Date 08 March 2021
  • Revise Date 16 May 2021
  • Accept Date 15 June 2021

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