UK Edition
China clones monkeys and deliberately edits genes to make them mentally ill
Chinese geneticists have been criticised after cloning five monkeys that were deliberately “edited” to be mentally ill.
Welfare concerns have been expressed after the genetically identical macaques showed signs of depression, reduced sleep and “schizophrenia-like behaviours”.
The animals were born with an inoperative BMAL1 gene, which helps regulate the circadian rhythm and was altered using the CRISPR “molecular scissors” editing technique.
Published in the National Science Review, the experiment by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Neuroscience (CASIN) should enable teams to try out drugs for use on humans with neurological conditions, the authors said.
It follows the controversy last year caused when another Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, revealed he had created the world’s first genetically edited babies using a similar technique.
The development was roundly condemned by fellow scientists as well as the Chinese Government.
Last year two different monkeys became the first primates to be cloned, a development that was argued opened the door to future human cloning because the species shares 95 per cent of human genes.
Dr Julia Baines, Science Policy Adviser at the campaign group PETA UK, said: “Genetically manipulating and then cloning animals is a monstrous practice that causes animals to suffer.”
However, CASIN has defended the practice of using cloned animals for medical research, and would enable the number of primates used in the laboratory to be significantly reduced.
Approximately 3,000 are used each year in the UK alone, according to the RSPCA. Sun Qiang, who led the new research, said using cloned monkeys for medical research could improve the speed of drug development.
“When they develop a new drug, they need to conduct a large number of animal tests to evaluate its performance and adverse effects," he said.
"The differences between individual animals could severely affect the reliability of these results."
Poo Mu-ming, director of the institute of neuroscience and co-author of the study, added: “Without the interference of genetic background, a much smaller number of cloned monkeys carrying disease phenotypes may be sufficient for pre-clinical tests.”