In Vitro and Ex Ovo Culture of Reptilian and Avian Neural Progenitor Cells

Reptiles and birds have been highlighted as excellent experimental models for the study of developmental biology; however, due to technical limitations in cellular analysis, dynamics of neural stem/progenitor cells of these animals remain unclear. In this chapter, we introduce the protocols for neurosphere culture and ex ovo embryonic culture of developing reptilian and avian embryos, which are modified from the method originally established for rodent embryos. Applications of these techniques provide powerful strategies for the study of comparative neural development of amniotes.