Rapid generation of marsupial induced pluripotent stem cells suitable for use in next-generation conservation
Marsupials account for a disproportionate share of recent and impending mammalian extinctions, that has prompted investment in the development of "next generation" conservation biotechnologies. These include the generation of genetically selected/modified individuals for improved population fitness. Given the inherent limitations of working with threatened species, a flexible vehicle to develop…
Marsupials are disproportionately represented among recent and upcoming mammalian extinctions, prompting investment in advanced conservation biotechnologies. These innovations include creating genetically selected/modified individuals to enhance population fitness. Handling endangered species presents challenges, making the development of transgene-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) crucial.
This research presents the creation of iPSCs from the fat-tailed dunnart, a marsupial, which functions as a model for upcoming conservation efforts.
The dunnart fat-tailed cells were reprogrammed using doxycycline-inducible Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, Lin28, and Myc. The resulting iPSC lines underwent comprehensive analysis, focusing on transcriptomic, epigenetic, and functional aspects. These included trilineage differentiation, embryoid body formation, and injection into mouse blastocysts for testing.
The study found that dunnart iPSCs demonstrated strong transcriptional and epigenetic activation of essential pluripotency factors, comparable to eutherian pluripotency markers. These iPSCs could differentiate into all three germ layers and integrate into both the inner cell mass and trophoblast of 8-cell mouse blastocysts, suggesting the potential to contribute to embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages during early development.
Notably, these diPSCs maintained their potential when exposed to exogenous pluripotency factors, enabling rapid application of next-generation conservation technologies in endangered species.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
