Japan Scientists Create Fertile Female Clones From Male Mice, Raising 1-Male Conservation Hope
Updated
Updated · IFLScience · Aug 24
Japan Scientists Create Fertile Female Clones From Male Mice, Raising 1-Male Conservation Hope
3 articles · Updated · IFLScience · Aug 24
Summary
RIKEN researchers used CRISPR-based Y-CUT to remove the Y chromosome from male mouse embryos, producing XO female clones that were healthy and fertile.
Those female clones were then bred with the original male donor—and with an XY male clone from the same donor—yielding healthy offspring and showing reproduction can start from a single male genome.
The team says the approach could help conservation if only one male animal's cells remain in biobanks, potentially creating both sexes from that genetic material.
Limits remain significant: the study is a bioRxiv preprint, and XO females are unusually viable in mice but often infertile or abnormal in other mammals, making wider use uncertain.