The Role of Primordial Germ Cells in Birds

The main technical issue with cloning birds is the egg itself. To clone an animal, scientists need access to an egg cell that's ready to be fertilized. But we don't have access to egg cells at that particular developmental stage in birds. Beth has a plan for a potential work around. When a chicken egg is laid, you can stick a needle into the egg and without hurting the embryo, suck out some of the cells that are going to be either sperm or eggs. These potential sperm or egg cells are called primordial germ cells. They're not the cells that form the bird. The people in Mauritius are super excited and engaged in the project.