Is Vasa such a highly specific marker for primordial germ cells? A comparison of VASA and HSP90 proteins expression in young chicken embryos.

•Primordial germ cells (PGCs) have been studied since the 19th century with several methods numerous of which are not germline specific.•The vasa protein is considered as a reliable marker for PGCs by some authors with its expression being limited to the germ cells.•However, other studies have reported its expression in somatic cells.•The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that vasa expression is not limited to the germ line in chick embryo.