Scientists create mammalian cells with single
chromosome set
Thursday,
08 September 2011
Researchers
have created mammalian cells containing a single set of chromosomes for the
first time in research funded by the Wellcome Trust and EMBO. The technique
should allow scientists to better establish the relationships between genes and
their function.
Mammal
cells usually contain two sets of chromosomes – one set inherited from the
mother, one from the father. The genetic information contained in these
chromosome sets helps determine how our bodies develop. Changes in this genetic
code can lead to or increase the risk of developing disease.
 |
|
Scientists
at the University of Cambridge bred
mice
with fluorescent green cells derived from
haploid
(single chromosome set) embryonic
stem
cells. Credit: Anton Wutz and Martin Leeb,
University
of Cambridge/Nature.
|
To
understand how our genes function, scientists manipulate the genes in animal
models – such as the fruit fly, zebra fish and mice – and observe the effects
of these changes. However, as each cell contains two copies of each chromosome,
determining the link between a genetic change and its physical effect – or
'phenotype' – is immensely complex.
Now, in
research published today in the journal Nature, Drs. Anton Wutz and Martin Leeb
from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research at the University of
Cambridge report a technique which enables them to create stem cells containing
just a single set of chromosomes from an unfertilized mouse egg cell. The stem
cells can be used to identify mutations in genes that affect the cells' behavior
in culture. In an additional step, the cells can potentially be implanted into
the mouse for studying the change in organs and tissues.
The
technique has previously been used in zebra fish, but this is the first time it
has been successfully used to generate such mammalian stem cells.
Dr.
Wutz, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship, explains:
"These
embryonic stem cells are much simpler than normal embryonic mammalian stem
cells. 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 cell and how networks of genes
regulate development."
The
researchers hope that this technique will help advance mammalian genetics and
our understanding of the gene-function relationship in the same way that a
similar technique has helped geneticists understand the simpler zebra fish
animal model.
Understanding
how our genetic make-up functions and how this knowledge can be applied to
improve our health is one of the key strategic challenges set out by the
Wellcome Trust. Commenting on this new study, Dr. Michael Dunn, Head of
Molecular and Physiological Sciences at the Wellcome Trust, says:
"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
drugs treatments."
Source: Wellcome Trust
Contact: Craig Brierley
Reference:
Derivation
of haploid embryonic stem cells from mouse embryosMartin Leeb & Anton Wutz
Nature (2011), doi:10.1038/nature10448
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