Chinese effort to clone gene-edited monkeys kicks off

Genetically identical primates could provide improved animal models of human disease, but some researchers raise ethical issues.

Researchers around the world interested in unravelling the mechanisms of complex human disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, could soon have access to cloned monkeys with genomes that have been edited to display these conditions in China.

On 24 January, scientists at the Institute of Neuroscience (ION) in Shanghai reported that they had used gene-editing to disable a gene in macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) that is crucial to their sleep–wake cycle. The scientists then cloned one of those monkeys to produce five primates with almost identical genes. It is the first time that researchers have cloned a gene-edited monkey and proof of principle for the researchers’ plan to create populations of genetically identical primates that they say will revolutionize biomedical research.

Primates are expensive, and many people object to them being used in research. The advantage of creating cloned monkeys is that it reduces the number of animals needed for certain types of experiments, such as testing whether a drug works. Researchers typically need large numbers of animals to determine whether the effects they see are because of the drug or due to genetic variation among the animals. By using genetically identical animals, such uncertainty can be eliminated, reducing the number of animals required.

At the moment, the process of cloning monkeys is inefficient and expensive. To create the 5 cloned macaques, the team started with 325 cloned gene-edited embryos, which they implanted into 65 surrogate monkeys. The process cost about $500,000

News Source: Nature.