China has successfully created mice from two males

Chinese scientists publish a new method to create young mice that can survive to adulthood from two males, according to Live Science. This is not the first time the science breeding mice with two father mice. A research team in Japan used to do so in 2023, using another approach. In the study published on January 28 in Cell Stem Cell, the authors not only created young mice surviving healthy, but their method also revealed a complex gene with an individual activity. Genetic genetic. The problem in these genes can cause a series of human syndrome like Angelman syndrome.

In the study in 2023, Japanese experts collect skin cells from mature mice and transform into stem cells that can be used to grow eggs. Using a smart technique, they make sure each egg cell has two X chromosomes, a pair of common sex chromosomes in children. After that, they fertilized the eggs with sperm taken from male mice, creating small amounts of young rats with genes from male mice.

New research conducted in China use a different method to achieve similar results. The researchers started with the elimination of DNA from adult eggs taken from female mice. Next, they put sperm into eggs to develop stem cells only in the embryo. These embryonic stem cells are pumped into the second egg along with sperm from male mice. The final result is that fertilized eggs can grow into young mice with DNA from two father mice.

In a key step, the team conducted 20 gene editing for the DNA of stem cells. These edits change the activity of the imprinted gene. The gene imprints specially in that the young child inherits two copies, one from the mother and one from the father, but they only need one copy to operate. Therefore, in each cell, a copy of each gene imprinted is invalid while the remaining copy is still useful.

This process is called “genome imprint”. When it is faulty, the imprinted disorder appears, causing development problems. When looking for a way to create an embryo with DNA from the father, the researcher will face a series of imprinting problems because there are too many genes from his father and his father and no gene from his mother to compensate.

“Our method is directly aimed at the imprinted gene, which has long been suspected to play a central role in the reproductive barrier from the two children”, making the challenge creating the younger from the two males even more complicated. ” , Zhi-kun Li, Associate Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, co-authored the study, said.

In the previous study, Li and colleagues corrected only 7 “hot spots” in the genome, creating mouse embryo existed during pregnancy but young mice died after birth. They have some abnormal characteristics such as navel, protruding tongue and enlarged organs. The researchers determined the genetic origin of each of the above issues and conducted more gene editing in mice. With 18 changes, young mice need feeding but can live to adulthood. With 19 changes, they have problems developing placenta during pregnancy but better survive after birth. With a total of 20 editing, the placenta is solved.

According to the research team, the issue of imprints seems to be greater than the preterm born from two male individuals than the preterm birth from two female individuals. In their previous research, young mice from two mothers survived to adulthood with less gene editing. In addition, in the new experiment, young mice still have shortcomings as shorter than normal and infertile mice. Meanwhile, young mice created by Japanese scientists still have the ability to fertility when growing up.

Li shared the next research step to improve the gene editing method to create a healthier young child from the father. In the long term, researching this type can help scientists better understand the imprinting disorders, paving the way for gene editing treatments.