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Genomic imprinting

Mice without a father

Nature volume 428, pages 809–811 (2004)Cite this article

In mammals, genomes from both parents are generally needed to make viable offspring. But changing the expression of ‘imprinted’ genes can render the father's contribution dispensable.

Sexual reproduction in animals ensures that each individual normally inherits one set of genes from each parent. But viable offspring that have only maternal genes — none from the father — can be produced through parthenogenetic reproduction in plants and most groups of animals. A notable exception is mammals, in which fathers remain a necessity. But why is this so? On page 860 of this issue, Kono and colleagues1 provide the most compelling evidence so far that a phenomenon called genomic imprinting is the stumbling block.

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Figure 1: No need for males?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Embryology Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Wentworthville, 2145, New South Wales, Australia

    David A. F. Loebel & Patrick P. L. Tam

Authors
  1. David A. F. Loebel
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  2. Patrick P. L. Tam
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Loebel, D., Tam, P. Mice without a father. Nature 428, 809–811 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/428809a

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