Male mouse blood turned into female clones via CRISPR
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- Takashi Ishiuchi and colleagues at the University of Yamanashi developed a CRISPR-based tool called Y-CUT to eliminate the Y chromosome from male mouse embryos, resulting in female offspring that are genetic clones of the father minus the Y chromosome.
- Shogo Matoba at RIKEN BioResource Research Center described the method as 'dual-sex cloning,' producing both male and female clones from a single male genome through somatic cell nuclear transfer combined with Y-CUT.
- CRISPR-edited female mice lacking the Y chromosome (XO) were healthy and fertile, and when mated with male clones from the same father, produced viable offspring that have lived over a year without apparent defects.
- Teruhiko Wakayama, not involved in the study, noted the technique could be valuable for conservation if replicated beyond mice, especially where only male tissue samples remain from extinct or endangered species.
- Ben Novak at Revive & Restore highlighted that the approach lays groundwork for chromosome manipulation in conservation, particularly for frozen tissue from species with only one or two known individuals.
- Linda Penfold of SEZARC cautioned that Y-deleted offspring are infertile in many species including humans and horses, and warned that breeding from a single animal’s clones risks severe lack of genetic diversity.
Why it matters: This technique enables sexual reproduction from a single male genome, which could aid conservation of species reduced to few or no living females. However, limited fertility in non-mouse species and minimal genetic diversity mean its real-world use depends on overcoming biological constraints already flagged by experts.
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