Unmasking budgerigar splenic leukocyte populations with single cell transcriptomics

Budgerigar splenic leukocyte populations have not been examined yet. With single cell transcriptomics we aimed to identify the different immune subpopulations and compare the immune system of these psittacine birds with chickens. Overall design: Splenocytes were isolated after an enzymatic digest of budgerigar spleen tissue, followed by a lymphoprep gradient centrifugation purification. Dead cells and cell aggregates were excluded from further analysis using FACS.