A team of stem cell scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has made a significant breakthrough in reproductive biology by successfully creating mice from two male parents. This achievement marks a crucial step forward in understanding and manipulating imprinting genes, which have long been considered a major obstacle to unisexual reproduction in mammals.
A team of stem cell scientists at the Chinese Academy of Science s (CAS) have made a significant breakthrough in reproductive biology by successfully creating mice from two male parents. This achievement marks a crucial step forward in understanding and manipulating imprinting genes, which have long been considered a major obstacle to unisexual reproduction in mammals.
Published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the study details the researchers' novel approach to overcome the challenges posed by imprinting genes. They employed a series of genetic modifications, including frameshift mutations, gene deletions, and edits to regulatory regions, targeting hundreds of imprinting genes. This strategy allowed them to develop a method that effectively addressed the most severe developmental defects observed in bi-paternal embryos.While previous attempts to create mice with two fathers resulted in embryos that failed to develop properly, the CAS team's modified approach enabled the generation of offspring through two techniques: ESC complementation haploid cell nuclear injection and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, the success rate was limited, with only 11.8% of the embryos reaching birth. Moreover, many of the resulting mice experienced developmental abnormalities, shorter lifespans, and sterility. Despite these limitations, the study demonstrated that imprinting abnormalities represent a fundamental barrier to bi-paternal reproduction in mammals.The researchers emphasize that their findings pave the way for further exploration and potential applications. They plan to conduct similar research on monkeys in the future, while continuing to refine their genetic modification techniques. The ultimate goal is to create healthy bi-paternal mice capable of producing viable gametes, which could lead to new therapeutic strategies for imprinting-related diseases. While the possibility of applying this technology to humans remains uncertain, the CAS team's groundbreaking research offers a glimpse into the future of reproductive medicine and the potential to overcome biological limitations
STEM CELL GENETIC MODIFICATION IMPRINTING GENES REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY BI-PATERAL EMBRYOS
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