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Updated: Aug 4, 2026
Primary Endodermal Epithelial Cell Culture from the Yolk Sac Membrane of Japanese Quail Embryos
Published on: March 10, 2016
Influence of yolk on blood metabolites in perinatal and neonatal chickens
S Puvadolpirod1, J R Thompson, J Green
1Mississippi State University 39762, USA.
Insights
The yolk sac is crucial for chick hatching, with most of its components absorbed during this period. Post-hatch, its role shifts from a primary metabolic reserve to supporting the hatching process itself.
Area of Science:
- Avian physiology
- Developmental biology
- Poultry science
Background:
- The yolk sac provides nutrients to developing embryos and newly hatched chicks.
- Its precise role during the critical perinatal period and early neonatal phase requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utilization of yolk sac components during the perinatal period (embryonic Day 18 to hatch).
- To determine the metabolic significance of the yolk sac in newly hatched chicks (neonatal period).
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Quantified changes in yolk sac composition (moisture, lipid, protein, carbohydrate) during the perinatal period.
- Experiment 2: Compared physiological parameters in deutectomized (yolk sac removed) chicks versus control chicks up to 15 days post-hatch.
Main Results:
- Approximately 70% of yolk sac contents were absorbed during the perinatal period.
- Deutectomized chicks showed no significant differences in blood metabolite levels compared to controls, indicating the yolk sac is not a major neonatal metabolic reserve.
Conclusions:
- The yolk sac is essential for the hatching process in chicks.
- Its primary function is not as a long-term metabolic resource after hatching, but rather in facilitating the hatching event.
Abstract:
Two experiments were conducted to assess the role of the yolk sac during the perinatal period (i.e., from embryonic Day 18 through hatch) and until 15 days after hatching. Experiment 1 describes changes in several yolk components. Approximately 70% of the yolk was absorbed during the perinatal period. Moisture, lipid, protein, and carbohydrate fractions were all utilized during this period. In Experiment 2, the age at which set-point physiological levels of several blood metabolites, as well as the magnitudes of these levels, in deutectomized (DT) chicks (surgical ablation of the yolk sac within 1 hr post-hatch) were not different from non-DT controls. Results indicate that the yolk sac plays a central role in the hatching process of chicks, rather than serving as a major metabolic reserve during the neonatal period.
