Categorization of early embryonic malformations in broilers by a new classification method combining light microscopy and high-resolution Episcopic Microscopy.

Hatchability rates in broilers pose a significant challenge in the poultry industry. Despite advancements in breeding and incubation technology, hatch rates remain suboptimal due to factors like genetics, egg management, environmental stress, nutrition, and breeder age. Understanding the mechanisms behind compromised hatchability is crucial for improving broiler production.

Hindbrain boundaries as niches of neural progenitor and stem cells regulated by the extracellular matrix proteoglycan chondroitin sulphate.

The interplay between neural progenitors and stem cells (NPSCs), and their extracellular matrix (ECM) is a crucial regulatory mechanism that determines their behavior. Nonetheless, how the ECM dictates the state of NPSCs remains elusive. The hindbrain is valuable to examine this relationship, as cells in the ventricular surface of hindbrain boundaries (HBs), which arise between any two neighboring rhombomeres, express the NPSC marker Sox2, while being surrounded with the membrane-bound ECM molecule chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG), in chick and mouse embryos.

Spontaneous immortalization of chicken fibroblasts generates stable, high-yield cell lines for serum-free production of cultured meat.

Cellular agriculture could meet growing demand for animal products, but yields are typically low and regulatory bodies restrict genetic modification for cultured meat production. Here we demonstrate the spontaneous immortalization and genetic stability of fibroblasts derived from several chicken breeds. Cell lines were adapted to grow as single-cell suspensions using serum-free culture medium, reaching densities of 108 × 10 cells per ml in continuous culture, corresponding to yields of 36% w/v.