A Way to Produce Animals of the Desired Sex Has Been Found

gene editing Genome editing, also known as genome editing, has become very popular in the scientific world in recent years. It is possible to say that this technology, which is also described as ‘groundbreaking’, is a genetic engineering that enables certain changes to be made in an organism’s DNA.

A new study, now published, has once again revealed how gene editing technologies can produce results. in England at the University of Kent and the Francis Crick Institute Thanks to gene-editing technology, scientists found single-sex mouse puppies succeeded in producing

Many animals are killed because they are not needed.

As can be expected, the use of animals for scientific research may be needed. The animals that should be used in these experiments are also single-sex, that is, either only Male or just female it may need to be. In the same way, such situations can occur in sectors such as livestock and food, and animals of unneeded sex can occur. can be culled. That’s why the scientists conducting the research think that the mice they produce can be an important step for scientific research and different sectors.

In the study, published in Nature Communications, the researchers identified a gene involved in embryo development at an early stage in the development of mice. out of order He stated that it is possible to leave only female embryos after that. Experiments of this theory 100% success Although it was stated that more research and pilot studies were needed, it was underlined by experts.

According to the research, with this method, it may be possible to prevent the culling of millions of animals and to achieve scientific success in the long term. Peter Ellis, one of the authors of the study, also said about this, “Results of this study improving animal welfare may be an important step in but your method The ethical aspect should also be discussed.. There should be a comprehensive public discussion for the application of such a method in agriculture.” by including the statements that the use of the method is a kind of animal eugenics He pointed out that this could happen (allowing only certain creatures to live) and raise ethical questions.

Gene editing system called Crispr-Cas9 was used

Details about how the gene was disabled were also shared in the study. The research team used a gene-editing molecule called Crispr-Cas9, which has the ability to turn off the gene, on mice. Half of this molecule belongs to your father. X or Y chromosome (determined by the required sex), the other half of the mother’s to your DNA buried. After that, it was observed that the offspring born had a single sex, and this situation could continue in the same way in the next generations.

Finally, it should be noted that this is not the first time such experiments have been made. Previously, scientists have announced that they are trying to develop ways to choose the sex of chick embryos, as billions of male chicks are slaughtered every year because they cannot lay eggs.