Abstract
The presence of both parental genomes is essential for development to term in the mouse embryo1–5 probably because of germline-specific modifications of homologous chromosomes6,7. Neither androgenetic nor parthenogenetic embryos can by themselves develop to term; any post-implantation embryos they produce have opposite phenotypes, which reflects the presence of complementary information in parental chromosomes1,7,8. The development of androgenetic ↔ parthenogenetic chimaeras is of considerable interest because in this case both parental chromosomes are available even though they are in separate cells. We demonstrate here that in post-implantation chimaeric fetuses, the expression of parental information results in spatial specificity so that parthenogenetic cells are confined to the embryo but the trophoblast consists almost entirely of androgenetic cells. The yolk sac contains both cell types. However, there is incomplete functional complementation because the chimaeras do not reach term. Although failure to reach term may occur partly because of inadequate intermingling and interactions between embryonic cells, it is more likely that further control of mouse development depends on the presence of both sets of chromosomes within the same cells.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Surani, M. A. H., Barton, S. C. & Norris, M. L. Nature 308, 548–550 (1984).
McGrath, J. & Solter, D. Cell 37, 179–183 (1984).
Mann, J. R. & Lovell-Badge, R. H. Nature 310, 66–67 (1984).
Anderegg, C. & Markert, C. L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 6509–6513 (1986).
Renard, J. P. & Babinet, Ch. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 6883–6886 (1986).
Surani, M. A. H., Barton, S. C. & Norris, M. L. Cell 45, 127–136 (1986).
Surani, M. A. H., Reik, W., Norris, M. L. & Barton, S. C. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. suppl. 97, 123–136 (1986).
Barton, S. C., Surani, M. A. H. & Norris, M. L. Nature 311, 374–376 (1984).
Surani, M. A. H. & Barton, S. C. Science 222, 1034–1036 (1983).
McGrath, J. & Solter, D. Science 220, 1300–1302 (1983).
Nicholson, G. L., Yanagimachi, R. & Yanagimachi, H. J. Cell Biol. 66, 263–274 (1975).
Surani, M. A. H. & Barton, S. C. Devl Biol. 102, 335–342 (1984).
Kaufman, M. H., Barton, S. C. & Surani, M. A. H. Nature 265, 53–55 (1977).
Kelly, S. J., Mulnard, J. G. & Graham, C. F. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 61, 331–345 (1978).
Takagi, N. & Sasaki, M. Nature 256, 640–641 (1975).
West, J. D., Frels, W. I., Chapman, V. M. & Papaioannou, V. E. Cell 12, 873–882 (1977).
Harper, M. I., Fosten, M. & Monk, M. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 67, 127–135 (1982).
Lyon, M. F. & Rastan, S. Differentiation 26, 63–67 (1984).
Chapman, V., Forrester, L., Sanford, J., Hastie, N. & Rossant, J. Nature 307, 284–286 (1984).
Muller, R., Verma, I. M. & Adamson, E. D. EMBO J. 2, 679–685 (1983).
Gardner, R. L. & Papaioannou, V. E. in Early Development of Mammals (eds Balls, M. & Wild, A. E.) 107–134 (Cambridge University Press, 1975).
Gardner, R. L. J. Embryol. exp. Morph 68, 175–198 (1982).
Buehr, M. & McLaren, A. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 31, 229–234 (1974).
Lewis, N. E. & Rossant, J. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 72, 169–181 (1982).
Rands, G. F. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 94, 139–148 (1986).
Stevens, L. C. Nature 276, 266–267 (1978).
Stevens, L. C., Varnum, D. S. & Eicher, E. M. Nature 269, 515–517 (1977).
Surani, M. A. H., Barton, S. C. & Kaufman, M. H. Nature 270, 601–603 (1977).
Searle, A. G. & Beechey, C. V. in Aneuploidy: Etiology and Mechanisms (eds Dellarco, V. L., Voytele, P. E. & Hollaender, A.) 363–376 (Plenum, New York, 1985).
Cattanach, B. M. & Kirk, M. Nature 315, 496–498 (1985).
Whittingham, D. G. & Wales, R. G. Aust. J. biol. Sci. 22, 1065–1072 (1969).
Cuthbertson, K. S. R. J. exp. Zool. 226, 311–314 (1983).
Whittingham, D. G. J. Reprod. Fert. suppl. 14, 7–21 (1971).
Eicher, E. M. & Washbum, L. L. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 946–950 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Surani, M., Barton, S. & Norris, M. Influence of parental chromosomes on spatial specificity in androgenetic ↔ parthenogenetic chimaeras in the mouse. Nature 326, 395–397 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/326395a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/326395a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
