Transplantation of Avian Neural Tissue

Abstract

The transplantation of neural tissue provides a means of addressing many questions in developmental neurobiology and regeneration of the nervous system. Although this technique has been used in fish, amphibia, avian, and mammalian species, this chapter will focus on neural transplantation in avia, which has several advantages. The development of the nervous system provides a close parallel to that of mammalian embryos in many of its aspects, and embryos can be accessed at developmental stages impossible in mammals. In addition, avian eggs can be obtained at low cost, and minimal equipment and facilities are required for these types of grafting experiments. Transplantation is possible at both cranial and spinal levels of the neuraxis, but the accessibility of these regions varies with stage. For example, transplantation of brain regions (e.g., ref. 1) is relatively easy at stages in which the neural tube has yet to develop the local expansions of the brain vesicles and has not yet become extensively vascularized, i.e., before E3 in the chick, but becomes more difficult after this time. Stages at which transplantation into the spinal cord (e.g., 2) can be performed depend on the axial level to be investigated owing to the rostro-caudal order of its generation, but transplants into spinal regions remain feasible at later stages.