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Updated: Aug 3, 2026
Optimized Ex-ovo Culturing of Chick Embryos to Advanced Stages of Development
Published on: January 24, 2015
Lectin binding in the ovary of the chick embryo and newborn
G Gheri1, E Sgambati, S Gheri Bryk
1Policlinico di Careggi, Department of Human Anatomy and Histology Florence, Italy. anatomy@cesit1.unifi.it
Insights
This study maps sugar residues in chick embryo ovaries using lectins. SBA marks immature oogonia, ConA indicates meiotic cells, and PNA identifies degenerating oogonia and specific endothelial cells.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Glycobiology
- Ovarian Histology
Background:
- Ovarian development involves complex cellular changes.
- Understanding glycoconjugate distribution is crucial for mapping these changes.
- Chick embryos provide a valuable model for studying early ovarian differentiation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the content, distribution, and changes of glycoconjugate sugar residues in chick embryo ovaries.
- To identify specific lectin markers for different oogonia stages and ovarian cell types.
- To track developmental changes from the 8th day of incubation through hatching.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a panel of seven HRP-conjugated lectins (DBA, SBA, PNA, ConA, WGA, LTA, UEA I).
- Examined ovarian tissues from chick embryos at various developmental stages (incubation day 8 to hatching and 1-day-old chicks).
- Analyzed lectin binding patterns to identify specific sugar residues and their cellular localization.
Main Results:
- Soybean agglutinin (SBA) marked immature oogonia in both cortex and medulla.
- Concanavalin A (ConA) identified cells undergoing meiotic division, associated with "Balbiani bodies" containing alpha-D-mannose.
- Peanut agglutinin (PNA) indicated degenerating oogonia and was found on endothelial cells of medullary and cortical vessels at specific developmental times.
Conclusions:
- Specific lectins serve as valuable markers for distinct cell populations and developmental stages in the chick ovary.
- SBA, ConA, and PNA reveal key molecular events during oogonia maturation, meiosis, and degeneration.
- The study provides a detailed spatiotemporal map of glycoconjugate changes during early ovarian development in chicks.
Abstract:
The content, distribution and changes of the glycoconjugates sugar residues in the ovaries of chick embryos, from the 8th day of incubation to hatching and in 1-day old chick, were investigated. For this purpose, a battery of seven HRP-conjugated lectins was used (DBA, SBA, PNA, ConA, WGA, LTA and UEA I). Our data showed that SBA was a marker of the most immature oogonia in the ovarian cortex and medulla. The reactivity with ConA appeared to characterize the cells immediately prior to as well as during the meiotic division, as demonstrated by the presence of alpha-D-mannose at the "Balbiani bodies" in the oogonia of the ovarian cortex. The detection of Con A and SBA reactivity corresponded to maturative stages of the early oogonia in different cortical zones of the chick ovary. Our data also revealed that PNA seemed to be a marker of the degenerating oogonia located in the ovarian medulla. Moreover, PNA binding was a characteristic finding in the endothelial cells of the vessels located in the compact portion of the medulla in the left ovary, from the 8th to the 21st day of incubation and after hatching; PNA reactivity was only seen from the 16th day onwards in the endothelial cells of the cortex. During the whole considered period of incubation and after hatching, reactivity with UEAI, LTA and DBA was never detected.
