New lizard species created in lab
6 Jun 2011 by Evoluted New Media
Human intervention has created a new species of whiptale lizard that has not only survived but reproduced and is now in its fourth generation.
Human intervention has created a new species of whiptale lizard that has not only survived but reproduced and is now in its fourth generation.
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A genetics research group has succeeded in creating a new species of lizard by mating two distinct species of North American Whiptails |
The whiptale lizard has been evolving into new species by interspecies mating for several hundred thousand years – but now, a genetics research group in Kansas has created a new species in the lab.
The team, led by Peter Baumann of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, encouraged two distinct species of North American Whiptales – a native of New Mexico– to mate. They paired haploid sperm from Aspidoscelis Inornata – the little striped whiptale – with triploid oocytes from a parthenogenetic A. exsanguis , the Chihuahuan spotted whiptale.
The pairing resulted in six eggs, all of which hatched. The young female lizards resembling the mother, except for the blue tint of the tail, a characteristic inherited from the father. Each lizard has four copies of their parental genes instead of two – three from mum and one from dad.
Ordinarily when a new species is created, the offspring is infertile – like the mule – or too weak to survive. However, the tetraploid, all-female species reproduce by laying eggs which don’t need to be fertilised – meaning the eggs are clone of the mother.
The initial lizards have survived and reproduced and so have their offspring. They are now on their fourth generation but are yet to be named. Baumann is hesitant to do so as the species has not yet had the opportunity to survive outside the lab – although the team believe it is capable of doing so.
The researchers hope the animals will be a critical tool in understanding the mechanisms underlying the origin and evolution of asexual amniotes.
