For the first time, a research group consisting of Assistant Professor Eiji Mizutani, Professor Teruhiko Wakayama, and Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Kiyoka Wakayama of the University of Yamanashi Developmental Engineering Research Center succeeded in directly cloning from cells contained in mouse urine. It was published in the scientific journal "Scientific Reports".
To make a clone, first remove the nucleus from the cell of the animal, transplant it into the egg of another individual without the nucleus to make a cloned embryo, and transfer it to the uterus of the surrogate mother to obtain the same genetic information as the original individual. The flow is to make an animal to have.However, in the case of wild animals, there is a risk of dying even if they are caught and pressed down because they are not accustomed to humans.For this reason, a method for collecting somatic cells without stressing animals has been sought.
Hair and saliva are samples for collecting somatic cells without damaging the individual, but they contain a large number of cell nuclei, and even if they can be used for paternity testing, clones cannot be created.On the other hand, it has been known for a long time that somatic cells are contained in urine, and it is said that if they can be collected in a sterile condition, they can be proliferated. increase.However, it was difficult to collect urine from wild animals aseptically, and the amount obtained in small animals was small, so it was not clear whether it could actually be used.
Therefore, the team examined whether cells collected from mouse urine could be directly used to clone.As a result, cloned mice could be produced from urinary cells, whether male or female, or even older individuals.Next, when an attempt was made to create a cloned embryo by transplanting it into the egg of another mouse from which the nucleus had been removed, most of the embryos grew to the same level as the fertilized egg, and when this was transferred to the uterus of the surrogate mother mouse, 1-3. There is a% chance that a clone was born.As a result of mating male and female cloned mice, it was also confirmed that the fertility was normal.
Professor Wakayama says, "For example, if we can collect dozens of cells from the urine of an endangered species that remains on the leaves, we may be able to clone it."In the future, as a more realistic condition, we plan to consider how many hours after urination can be used as a donor for nuclear transfer.
