Scientists Use Stem Cell Technology To Create Mice With Two Genetic Fathers

In a breakthrough in stem cell and reproductive research, scientists at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas have produced male and female mice from two genetic fathers. Combining genes from the chromosomes of two male mice, and using surrogate females, the research team manipulated cells from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. iPS cells are adult cells that have undergone some genetic reprogramming in order to enter an embryonic stem cell-like state. Some of the cells that were grown from the line spontaneously lost their Y chromosomes, turning them into XO cells. Those XO cells were injected into embryos from donor female mice and transplanted into surrogate ‘mouse moms’ who gave birth to offspring with one X chromosome from the original male mouse.

The research team has said their results are a new form of mammalian reproduction that can be used to combine genetic traits from two partners of the same sex. Although in its premature stages, the researchers claim that the breakthrough could one day conceivably allow same-sex couples to have their own genetic children.

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Popsci: “Mice With Two Genetic Fathers”

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