Cryopreservation of germplasm from chickens kept in Canadian research institutions

Twenty-three genetically distinct lines of chickens are maintained as living populations by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Canada’s eight Faculties of Agriculture. Historically, cryogenic storage of avian genetic material has been difficult, but we have developed techniques of gonadal transplantation to allow recuperation of stored genetic material into living birds. Gonads from 1660 day-old chicks or late-term embryos (810 females and 850 males) from 18 chicken populations from four Canadian institutions were harvested and cryopreserved using dimethylsulfoxide as a cryoprotectant. Future efforts will be directed to completing the collection of the populations kept in Canadian publicly-funded institutions that conduct agricultural research. Key words: Chicken, genetic resources, cryopreservation, gonads