A group of University of Georgia researchers
has become the first in the world to successfully
produce a genetically modified reptile—specifically,
four albino lizards—using the CRISPR-Cas9
gene-editing tool.
They were able to create almost transparent
lizard by removing the lizard pigmentation
using Gene-editing tool.
Scientists have been altering the genes of
mice, pigs, goats, chickens and butterflies
for quite some time.
Especially the growth of CRISPR Gene Editing
acclerates these things.
But gene-editing was not yet done for the
reptiles
Because the reproductive biology of reptiles
presents unique barriers for the use of this
technology.
Reptiles are very understudied in terms of
their reproductive biology and embryonic development.
There are no good methods to manipulate embryos
like we can easily do with mammals, fish or
amphibians.
Gene manipulation using CRISPR typically involves
injecting gene-editing solutions into an animal’s
newly fertilized egg or single-cell embryo,
causing a mutation in the DNA that is reproduced
in all subsequent cells.
However female reptiles can store sperm in
their oviducts for long periods, making it
difficult to pinpoint the exact moment of
fertilization.
Also, the physiology of their fertilized eggs,
which have pliable shells with no air space
inside, presents challenges for manipulating
embryos without damaging them.
The Research team overcame these challenges
by microinjecting CRISPR proteins into multiple
immature eggs, or oocytes, still located in
the lizards’ ovaries.
This research could also have implications
for human genetics work.
Because certain aspects of human eye development
are shared with anoles, instead of eyes of
mice and other organisms commonly used for
biomedical research.
