The heart is one of the most important organs in the body—it is responsible for pumping blood through our body, making sure the rest of our organs have plenty of oxygen and nutrients to function properly. If the heart doesn’t work properly, it can lead to life-threatening diseases. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the world, and is an umbrella term describing coronary artery disease, congenital heart defects, arrhythmias, heart attack, and congestive heart failure.
Since heart disease has such a high incidence, it is important to focus on research that can help us understand how to treat or prevent these conditions. Model organisms help delve into the mechanisms, development, and genetics behind cardiovascular disease. There are many model organisms available for research, and the chick has been one of the choice models to study development for many years, including the developing heart and congenital heart defects.
Why use chick as a model organism for development?
- The chick develops outside the mother in an egg and is semi-transparent, making it easy to access, observe, surgically manipulate, and image.
- Early chick embryo morphology is similar to human development
- The human and chick genomes have 60% homology
- Experiments can be performed in ovo or ex ovo
- Chicks are inexpensive to maintain