Production of identical twin and triplet mice by nuclear transplantation

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Abstract
Transplantation of a single nucleus from two‐ or four‐cell embryos into one of the enucleated blastomeres of a two‐cell embryo resulted in successful production of identical triplet and twin mice. The proportion of reconstituted embryos that developed in blastocysts was 71% (84/118) when four‐cell embryos were used as donors of nuclei; 10 sets of quadruplet and nine sets each of triplet and twin blastocysts were obtained by this technique. After transfer to recipients, 30% (18/61) developed to term, and one set of identical triplet and four sets of identical twin mice were obtained. When two‐cell embryos were used as donors of nuclei, 79 (95%) sets of twin embryos developed to blastocysts. Of 38 twin blastocysts transferred to recipients, 21 sets (55%) developed to term as identical twin mice. These results demonstrate that the enucleated two‐cell embryo develops in vitro after transfer of a nucleus from a two‐ or four‐cell embryo and the resultant blastocyst has high potential for development to term after transfer to a recipient.