Cloning of the first male mammal

1999/08/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Genetika

So far the
Dolly sheep or the Cumuline mouse and all cloned mammals have been females. However, at the University of Hawaii they were able to clone the male mouse called Fibro with mature mouse cells. This is the first time the male mammal has been cloned, so an important step has been taken in cloning. In addition, no cells related to the reproductive system have been used to clone this mouse, so it has been shown that cloning can be achieved from any cell in the body.

So far most of the cells used to clone animals have been removed from the fetus, as they are in development phase and their cloning is much easier. In the cases of Dolly and Cumuline adult cells have been used, but always related to the reproductive system (breast or ovarian cells). Skin cells have been used in the case of fibro. Hawaiian researchers have achieved a single clonic mouse of 274 trials, but it is healthy and behaves like a normal mouse.