Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size
Technologies that can preselect offspring gender hold great promise for improving farm animal productivity and preventing human sex-related hereditary diseases. The maternal <i>Rlim</i> allele is required for imprinted X-chromosome inactivation, which is essential for the normal developm...
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/6/1079 |
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| author | Jingfeng Peng Yunfei Hou Shici Wu Zicong Li Zhenfang Wu |
| author_facet | Jingfeng Peng Yunfei Hou Shici Wu Zicong Li Zhenfang Wu |
| author_sort | Jingfeng Peng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Technologies that can preselect offspring gender hold great promise for improving farm animal productivity and preventing human sex-related hereditary diseases. The maternal <i>Rlim</i> allele is required for imprinted X-chromosome inactivation, which is essential for the normal development of female mouse embryos. In this study, we inactivated the maternal <i>Rlim</i> allele in embryos by crossing a male transgenic mouse line carrying an X-linked <i>CMV-Cre</i> transgene with a female line carrying a <i>loxP</i>-flanked <i>Rlim</i> gene. Knockout of the maternal <i>Rlim</i> gene in embryos resulted in a male-biased sex ratio skew in the offspring. However, it also reduced litter size, and this effect was not compensated for by superovulation in the mother mice. In addition, we showed that siRNA-mediated knockdown of <i>Rlim</i> in mouse embryos leads to the birth of male-only progenies. This study provides a new promising method for male-biased sex selection, which may help to improve the productivity in livestock and prevent sex-associated hereditary diseases in humans. |
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| id | doaj.art-10252c52f8884d9ab0b7cce3c5f40dad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:01:10Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-10252c52f8884d9ab0b7cce3c5f40dad2023-11-17T09:12:04ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-03-01136107910.3390/ani13061079Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter SizeJingfeng Peng0Yunfei Hou1Shici Wu2Zicong Li3Zhenfang Wu4National Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Breeding Swine Industry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaTechnologies that can preselect offspring gender hold great promise for improving farm animal productivity and preventing human sex-related hereditary diseases. The maternal <i>Rlim</i> allele is required for imprinted X-chromosome inactivation, which is essential for the normal development of female mouse embryos. In this study, we inactivated the maternal <i>Rlim</i> allele in embryos by crossing a male transgenic mouse line carrying an X-linked <i>CMV-Cre</i> transgene with a female line carrying a <i>loxP</i>-flanked <i>Rlim</i> gene. Knockout of the maternal <i>Rlim</i> gene in embryos resulted in a male-biased sex ratio skew in the offspring. However, it also reduced litter size, and this effect was not compensated for by superovulation in the mother mice. In addition, we showed that siRNA-mediated knockdown of <i>Rlim</i> in mouse embryos leads to the birth of male-only progenies. This study provides a new promising method for male-biased sex selection, which may help to improve the productivity in livestock and prevent sex-associated hereditary diseases in humans.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/6/1079sex controlsex ratio<i>Rlim</i>X-chromosome inactivationsuperovulationlitter size |
| spellingShingle | Jingfeng Peng Yunfei Hou Shici Wu Zicong Li Zhenfang Wu Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size Animals sex control sex ratio <i>Rlim</i> X-chromosome inactivation superovulation litter size |
| title | Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size |
| title_full | Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size |
| title_fullStr | Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size |
| title_short | Knockout of <i>Rlim</i> Results in a Sex Ratio Shift toward Males but Superovulation Cannot Compensate for the Reduced Litter Size |
| title_sort | knockout of i rlim i results in a sex ratio shift toward males but superovulation cannot compensate for the reduced litter size |
| topic | sex control sex ratio <i>Rlim</i> X-chromosome inactivation superovulation litter size |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/6/1079 |
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