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Zhang C, Xu M, Yang M, Liao A, Lv P, Liu X, Chen Y, Liu H, He Z. Efficient generation of cloned cats with altered coat colour by editing of the KIT gene. Theriogenology 2024; 222:54-65. [PMID: 38621344 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Coat colour largely determines the market demand for several cat breeds. The KIT proto-oncogene (KIT) gene is a key gene controlling melanoblast differentiation and melanogenesis. KIT mutations usually cause varied changes in coat colour in mammalian species. In this study, we used a pair of single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) to delete exon 17 of KIT in somatic cells isolated from two different Chinese Li Hua feline foetuses. Edited cells were used as donor nuclei for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to generate cloned embryos presenting an average cleavage rate exceeding 85%, and an average blastocyst formation rate exceeding 9.5%. 131 cloned embryos were transplanted into four surrogates, and all surrogates carried their pregnancies to term, and delivered 4.58% (6/131) alive cloned kittens, with 1.53% (2/131) being KIT-edited heterozygotes (KITD17/+). The KITD17/+ cats presented an obvious darkness reduction in the mackerel tabby coat. Immunohistochemical analysis (IHC) of skin tissues indicated impaired proliferation and differentiation of melanoblasts caused by the lack of exon17 in feline KIT. To our knowledge, this is the first report on coat colour modification of cats through gene editing. The findings could facilitate further understanding of the regulatory role of KIT on feline coat colour and provide a basis for the breeding of cats with commercially desired coat colour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Meina Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Min Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Alian Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Peiru Lv
- Henan Liosio Biotechnology Co., Ltd, PR China
| | - Xiaohong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Yaosheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China
| | - Hongbo Liu
- Henan Liosio Biotechnology Co., Ltd, PR China.
| | - Zuyong He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
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