Haploid mammalian cell achieved
15 Sep 2011 by Evoluted New Media
For the first time, researchers have created a mammalian cell containing a single set of chromosomes in a technique which should allow them to better understand the relationship between genes and their function.
Mammal cells usually contain two sets of chromosomes – one inherited from the father and one from the mother – and the genetic information contained within these chromosomes helps determine how the body develops. Changes in the genetic code can lead to an increased risk in developing disease.
Dr Anton Wutz and Dr Martin Leeb from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of Cambridge were able to create stem cells containing just a single set of chromosomes from an unfertilised mouse egg cell. These stem cells can then be used to identify mutations in genes that affect the cells’ behaviour in culture.
“These embryonic stem cells are much simpler than normal embryonic mammalian stem cells,” said Wutz, a Wellcome Trust senior research fellow. “Any genetic change we introduce to the single set of chromosomes will have an easy-to-determine-effect. This will be useful for exploring in a systematic way the signalling mechanisms within cells and how networks of genes regulate development.”
Experimental induction of haploidy has been uobserved in fish – in particular zebrafish for genetic screening – but it has always seemed less compatible with development in mammals, with all cells reverting to diploid structures. This is the first time scientists have been able to successfully generate mammalian cells using the method.
The researchers – who have published their results in Nature – hope the technique will advance mammalian genetics and our understanding of the gene-function relationship in the same way it has helped geneticist understand the simple zebrafish model.
Dr Michael Dunn, head of molecular and physiological sciences at the Wellcome Trust said: “This technique will help scientists overcome some of the significant barriers that have so far made studying the functions of genes so difficult. This is often the first step towards understanding why mutations lead to disease, and ultimately, to developing new drug treatments.”
Derivation of haploid embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos
