Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
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For the first time, a mouse with two fathers has been created using embryonic stem cell engineering. Scientists overcame reproductive barriers once thought insurmountable, leading to a live bi-paternal mouse that survived into adulthood.
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Earlier attempts failed because of imprinting genes, which control how maternal and paternal DNA is expressed. Wei Li of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) confirms that these genes are the key obstacle to unisexual mammalian reproduction.
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Researchers modified 20 imprinting genes using frameshift mutations, deletions, and regulatory edits. Qi Zhou of CAS explains that these changes allowed bi-paternal embryos to develop further than ever before.
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Only 11.8% of embryos survived until birth, and most died young due to developmental defects. The few that reached adulthood had altered growth, shortened lifespans, and were completely sterile.
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The gene modifications didn’t just help create bi-paternal mice—they also enhanced pluripotency in embryonic stem cells, a breakthrough that could reshape regenerative medicine and cloning research.
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Co-author Guan-Zheng Luo of Sun Yat-sen University believes further genetic edits could eventually produce healthy bi-paternal mice capable of reproduction, opening new doors for cloning and fertility treatments.
The team plans to extend their research to larger animals like monkeys, but imprinting gene differences make it a time-intensive challenge. If successful, it could revolutionize stem cell-based reproduction.
Human application remains unlikely for now. The International Society for Stem Cell Research prohibits heritable genome editing and the use of stem cell-derived gametes in reproduction due to safety concerns.
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This research challenges longstanding biological limits and raises ethical questions about genetic engineering’s future. Whether bi-paternal reproduction remains a lab phenomenon or a future reality is still uncertain.