{
  "id": 15440359,
  "title": "Dietary phosphorus restriction enables multigenerational breeding of α-Klotho-deficient rats",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/dietary-phosphorus-restriction-enables-multigenerational-breeding-of",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-18T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.17.759802v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Severe -Klotho deficiency in rats leads to early mortality and reproductive issues, making it challenging to maintain and analyze these models over generations. Researchers created rats with a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of -Klotho in the exons 1-5 region and tested the effects of dietary phosphorus restriction. They found that restricting maternal phosphorus intake during mating and lactation resulted in higher overall survival to weaning (92.6% vs. 85.8%) and a greater proportion of -Klotho-deficient offspring (34/113 vs. 23/145). Additionally, limiting phosphorus intake post-weaning helped maintain growth, gonadal development, and natural breeding among -Klotho-deficient rats. After 15 litters, 74 out of 85 offspring survived to weaning, allowing researchers to sustain -Klotho-deficient colonies for at least five generations. The study also examined 24-hour metabolic rhythms in phosphorus-restricted -Klotho-deficient rats, which showed variability under a light-dark cycle. Overall, dietary phosphorus restriction proved to be an effective method for maintaining multigenerational severe -Klotho-deficient rat models, creating a sustainable platform for investigating residual metabolic and physiological traits.",
  "summary": "Severe -Klotho deficiency causes early mortality and reproductive impairment, limiting the maintenance and physiological analysis of rat models. We generated rats carrying a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated -Klotho deletion spanning exons 1-5 and evaluated dietary phosphorus restriction primarily in the Wistar-Imamichi background. Maternal low-phosphorus (LP) feeding from mating through lactation was…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}