In vivo gene electroporation confers strong transient expression of foreign genes in the chicken testis.

To attain foreign gene expression in vivo in the testis of living chickens, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and firefly luciferase reporter genes were transfected by electroporation (EP). Bioluminescence imaging indicated clear expression of the luciferase reporter gene localized in and around the injection site of the chicken testis. The CAT activity decreased sharply from 7 to 14 d posttransfection (P < 0.01) and remained low until 28 d. The presence of the self-replication sequence of Epstein-Barr virus did not give significantly higher CAT gene expression over the 28-d posttransfection. The results suggest that in vivo gene EP confers strong, likely transient, foreign gene expression in the testis of living chickens.