Scientists said it was the world’s first live birth of a chimeric.
Chinese scientists have successfully created a chimera (mixed) monkey with unique characteristics, such as green eyes and glowing fingertips. This breakthrough, reported by CNN, involves the experimental blending of two sets of DNA, promising potential benefits for medical research and species conservation. Although the lab-born monkey lived for only 10 days before being euthanised, the process behind its creation is detailed in a study published in the journal Cell.
This pioneering experiment involved combining the stem cells of two genetically distinct fertilized eggs from the same monkey species, a long-tailed macaque, resulting in the world’s first live birth of a chimeric, stem cell-containing monkey, as per CNN.
Study co-author Miguel Esteban, from the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, expressed optimism about the potential for modeling neurodegenerative diseases and species conservation using monkey chimeras. Research findings suggested that the live birth monkey chimera exhibited a significant contribution of stem cells to the brain, holding promise for valuable medical insights.
Furthermore, the potential for species conservation was highlighted, as the monkey chimeras could contribute to breeding efforts for endangered species by passing on donor cells, as explained by Esteban. The animal contained a high ratio of cells that grew out of the stem cells, ranging from 21% to 92% in different tissues, with the brain showing the highest percentage, reported Science Alert.
The creation of chimeric mice dates back to the 1960s and has been widely used in biomedical research, paving the way for research into the potential of monkey chimeras in similar endeavors.
