Chinese scientists have successfully recombined a mouse’s chromosomes to create the world’s first mammal with fully reprogrammed genes.
Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing broke down the chromosomes into different segments and rearranged them in different combinations to create a new package of genes, resulting in the mouse called “Xiao Zhu” (Little Bamboo).
The paper, published in the academic journal Science on Thursday, revealed that the research team accomplished the first-ever modification of genes in mammals on a scale big as chromosomes.
Chromosomes, which hold DNA in a cell’s nuclei, break apart and recombine naturally via a complicated and delicate process. In the past, humans have only succeeded in replicating the process in a lab with single-cell organisms like yeast.
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