Induction of pluripotency in large Japanese field mouse (<i>Apodemus speciosus</i>) fibroblasts via reprogramming

The large Japanese field mouse, Apodemus speciosus, is a rodent species endemic to Japan and is widely distributed throughout the country. It has been extensively used as a model organism in studies of geographic isolation and as an environmental bioindicator. However, there have been no reports on the establishment of pluripotent stem cells from this species that could be applied to developmental engineering. In this study, we attempted to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from A. speciosus and successfully obtained cells that formed dome-shaped colonies and expressed pluripotency markers. These cells were capable of forming embryoid bodies that expressed markers of the three germ layers, and in vivo analysis using immunodeficient mice confirmed their ability to form teratomas. A. speciosus iPSCs established in this study not only contribute to the conservation of Japan's valuable animal genetic resources, but also provide a novel platform for investigating various biological processes that remain unexplored in this wild species.