Abstract: Early humans have domesticated plant and animal species based on ancient empirical concepts (Darwin 1868, 1876). In 1886, Mendel established a new paradigm of hereditary laws (Mendel 1866, 1870, 1950) based on genotypic and phenotypic traits of cross-compatible species, establishing a complex breeding technology that is currently utilized for the development of most food and livestock-derived products. Recently, studies on deciphering the double-helical structure (Watson and Crick 1953a, b) and how to restrict DNA (Arber 2012) have established the foundation of recombinant DNA technology. A new era is paving the way for genetic manipulation of important traits among all the kingdom’s organisms, allowing for the development of innovative and widely utilized products for the agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical production sectors (Mc Elroy 2003, 2004, ISAAA 2016).

Ovos fertilizados de galinha foram bombardeados através da técnica de biobalística. A expressão transiente do gene lacZ, sob o controle do promotor humano citomegalovírus, foi verificada após a transferência in situ. Diferentes níveis de pressão de gás hélio, vácuo e tipos de partículas foram testados. A taxa de sobrevivência aumentou à medida que a velocidade das partículas diminuíram, entretanto, o nível de expressão foi menor. Os melhores resultados, combinando taxa de sobrevivência e expressão, foram obtidos com partículas de ouro, 600 libras por polegada ao quadrado de hélio e 600 mmHg de vácuo. Nestas condições, todos os embriões bombardeados apresentaram atividade da <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</FONT>-galactosidase, indicando que esta técnica é eficiente para a transformação de embriões de galinhas.

Fertilized chicken eggs were bombarded with a biolistic device. Transient expression of the lacZ gene under the control of a human cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter was assessed after in situ gene transfer using this approach. The influence of different pressures, vacuum levels and particles was tested. Survival rate improved as particle velocity decreased, but resulted in lower levels of expression. The best survival and expression were obtained with gold particles, a helium gas pressure of 600 psi and a vacuum of 600 mmHg. Under these conditions, all bombarded embryos showed <FONT FACE="Symbol">b</FONT>-galactosidase activity, indicating that this was an effective method for transformation of chicken embryos.