Studies of Generation of B-cell Diversity in Mouse, Man, and Chicken

Ideas about possible mechanisms for the generation of B-cell diversity have been deduced almost exclusively from analysis of the immunoglobulin products of mature B cells. A developmental approach to this problem has recently become possible through the discovery of the unique role of the bursa of Fabricius as a source of B cells in birds and by development of methods and model systems by which B cells from very young mammals can be examined. Sufficient results from the different approaches are now available to begin an integration of the two basic types of information and to show their complementary nature.