Recent Advances in Application of Male Germ Cell Transplantation in Farm Animals

Figure 1

A schematic representation of procedures involved in germ cell transplantation in farm animals. A single-cell suspension of germ cells is prepared after enzymatic digestion of the donor testis for transplantation into recipient testes. Alternatively, the number of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) can be enriched in the donor cells and the resultant cells can be used fresh or preserved (for short term through hypothermic preservation or long-term by cryopreservation) and/or transfected with genes of interest before transplantation. The recipient animal can be treated with busulfan or undergo local irradiation of the testes to reduce the number of endogenous SSCs, in preparation for germ cell transplantation. Transplanted SSCs can form colonies of donor-derived spermatogenesis and produce sperm to allow the recipient to sire progeny carrying the donor haplotype.