Multipotent stem cell characterization from feather follicle as a source to establish a genetic resource bank of wild birds

• Grant number: 19/09148-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2020
• End date: April 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Daniele dos Santos Martins
• Grantee: Daniele dos Santos Martins
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Carlos Eduardo Ambrósio

Abstract

Brazil is the second country in the world with the largest number of bird species, accounting for 1,919 species, the country with the largest number of new species discovered in the last decade, but the largest number of birds threatened 164 species. Brazilian birds are animals that target of environmental anthropic action, as well as the trafficking of wild animals; so it's necessary to seek methods for the preservation of species that prevent the reduction of variability and even extinction. The conservation of genetic resources presents itself as an alternative for the reduction of the continuous loss of animals due to environmental degradation, and the banks of genetic resources are a possibility of genetic material conservation of immediate use or with potential of future. However, a problem in wild avian is the extraction and adequate cryopreservation of cells from different tissues. In this way, we propose to develop an efficient technique for extraction, isolation and cryopreservation of the follicle cells of the bird feathers, since in this tissue we find cells with multipotent potential responsible for the proliferation of cell lines for the formation of specific tissues. The work will use histological techniques, cell culture and immunocytochemistry in order to better understand the cellular dynamics, as well as to establish the best technique to be made available for the preservation of the species. The use of feather follicle cells is an alternative method to the use of embryos in wild birds is undoubtedly an excellent pathway due to the ease in obtaining somatic cells from these species without going through the difficulty of obtaining a fertilized egg and without euthanasia embryos. Therefore the present work covers the challenges and perspectives of the conservation of genetic material of wild birds in Brazil, and may in the future serve as a valuable tool for the preservation of species of birds threatened with extinction. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE SOUZA, ALINE FERNANDA; PIERI, NAIRA CAROLINE GODOY; MARTINS, DANIELE DOS SANTOS. Step by Step about Germ Cells Development in Canine. ANIMALS, v. 11, n. 3, MAR 2021. (12/05609-0, 16/15260-6, 19/09148-7, 14/26761-0, 13/10542-5)