Children from same-sex marriages
Scientists have received offspring from two males
Sergey Vasiliev, Naked Science
Unlike some other groups of animals, no species is known in mammals capable of parthenogenesis – reproduction without the participation of male germ cells. The possibility of forming such embryos is hindered, in particular, by the "tuning" of the work of parental DNA: some genes necessary for development act exclusively in the maternal copy, and some only in the paternal one. This adjustment is made due to the chemical addition of methyl groups to the corresponding DNA sites, and for the normal development of the offspring it must be "reset".
This work was done by Hu Baoyan (Bao-Yang Hu) and his colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whose article was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell (Zhi-Kun Li et al., Generation of Bimaternal and Bipaternal Mice from Hypomethylated Haploid ESCs with Imprinting Region Deletions). The authors isolated a haploid ("single") genome in two female mice, after which they used the CRISPR GM technology to pinpoint the inclusion of three suppressed genes important for the development of stem cells. The modified DNA molecules were transplanted into donor eggs, and they were transferred to female mice that served as surrogate mothers. According to scientists, out of 210 embryos prepared in this way, 14 percent formed normally and led to the appearance of healthy and even capable of normal reproduction offspring (they are shown in the illustration to the note).
Schematic diagram of the experiment
Getting offspring from two males did not go so smoothly. Scientists had to edit the activity of six genes already – out of 1023 modified embryos, only 1.2 percent survived to birth. However, the mice that were born were twice as large as normal and died shortly after birth. By changing the experiment, scientists have already identified and "adjusted" seven DNA genes of both fathers, however, in this case, a pair of mice born lived less than 48 hours.
It is worth noting that the work was done in order to better understand the mechanisms of regulation of embryonic development. In the future, this will not only allow same-sex couples to have their own children, but also help to correct serious developmental disorders at an early stage. In addition, technologies for obtaining offspring from parents of the same sex may prove indispensable for saving endangered species, such as northern white rhinos, the last male of which died about six months ago.
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