What happens when you clone mice for 20 years straight?
10 hours ago
- #genetics
- #cloning
- #mice
- Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama created the first cloned mouse, Cumulina, in 1997.
- By 2005, cloning efficiency improved with optimizations like histone deacetylase inhibitors.
- The Wakayama lab cloned mice for 58 generations over 20 years, requiring 30,947 attempts.
- Cloning efficiency dropped significantly by generation 58, making further cloning impossible.
- Mutations accumulated over generations, with 3.1 times more single-nucleotide mutations than natural reproduction.
- Structural genomic abnormalities, including loss of an X chromosome, contributed to cloning failure.
- Despite mutations, cloned mice had normal lifespans and no worsening epigenetic abnormalities.
- The study highlights cloning's limitations but also its potential with quality control measures.