Sterilising embryos for transgenic chimaeras

1. Experiments were undertaken to attempt to sterilise fowl embryos with ultraviolet light. Such sterilised embryos would be useful as recipients of genetically manipulated germ cells. 2. The germinal crescents of embryos were exposed to a calibrated UV source at stages 4 and 8 to 10 of incubation for 30 s, 3 min and 10 min. Teratological and sterility effects were studied at periods up to 6 d of incubation. 3. Simply exposing embryos by opening the shell produced a number of abnormalities and mortalities. These decreased with the age of the embryo but increased with the dosage of irradiation. 4. Although there was abundant evidence for UV-induced cell damage, the sterility of the embryos was usually less than 75%.