A team of Chinese scientists managed, thanks to gene editing, for a mouse to have living children from an unfertilized egg. The research shows that, although this type of reproduction was thought to be impossible in mammals, it can be achieved through new manipulation techniques.
It would be the first mammal to achieve asexual reproduction thanks to this technique, known as parthenogenesis, a Greek term that means virgin creation, which is a form of asexual birth only with unfertilized ovules. It has several examples in nature. Invertebrates such as scorpions, mites, some bees, fish, amphibians, and reptiles are capable of generating offspring without a mate.
Until now, however, recreating such a form of reproduction had not been successful in mammals due to a genomic imprinting process in which genes are chemically marked to determine the parent of origin. Through this natural process, it is ensured that the embryo develops without failure.
To achieve mouse parthenogenesis, Chinese scientists, led by Yanchang Wei of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who published their research in Proceedings, of the National Academy of Sciences, used a technology that allows modifying the genes of organisms called Crispr (an acronym that in Spanish means: grouped and regularly interspaced short palindromic repetitions).
With this technique, researchers have been able to edit DNA methylation marks, modifications to the genome that can alter the activity of genes in the body without changing the underlying sequence of that genetic material.
“After parthenogenetic activation, these edited regions showed maintenance of methylation as naturally established zones during early pre-implantation development,” the study notes.
“The transfer of modified parthenogenetic embryos to foster mothers resulted in significantly increased development and ultimately the generation of viable offspring. These data demonstrate that asexual reproduction can be achieved through targeted epigenetic rewriting of multiple imprint control regions.”
Despite the results, only one of the pups survived to adulthood. However, for the scientists, these results confirm that partogenesis in mammals is possible through the regulation of multiple imprinting control regions using genetic modification techniques.
The researchers also warn that further refinement of the technique is needed to improve the success rate. Among the possible applications “avenues are opened in agriculture, research and medicine.”
The findings could also lead to a better understanding of congenital disorders related to human genetic imprinting such as Angelman syndrome, which causes developmental delay, speech and balance problems, as well as intellectual disability.
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