One-step generation of semi-cloned zebrafish carrying a defined genetic modification
Haploid embryonic stem cells (haESCs) from multiple species, including medaka fish, 1 mouse, 2 , 3 rat, 4 cattle, sheep, 5 and human, 6 can “fertilize” oocytes to produce semi-cloned embryos/animals and thus have potential applications in generating animal models with complex modifications. In mice, androgenetic haESCs (AG-haESCs) carrying both H19 -DMR and IG-DMR deletions can efficiently support the generation of semi-cloned pups upon intracytoplasmic AG-haESC injection (ICAHCI) into oocytes, at rates of up to 30.0% of transferred embryos. Therefore, mouse DKO-AG-haESCs have been used as a genetically tractable fertilization tool for complex genetic analyses at the organismal level. 7 This approach, however, has remained unavailable in zebrafish, a key model organism for studying vertebrate development and diseases.
Authors
- Siyu Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5583-4545)
- Yirui Ai
- Yiping Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9461-813X)
- Shifeng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9921-314X)
- Yunbin Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2488-9970)
- Siqi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9744-3681)
- Jinsong Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3456-662X)
- J Q Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0062-5724)
- Zhou Zhou
Institutions
- East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cell Research
- Published
- 2026-06-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-026-01266-0
- Primary Topic
- Pluripotent Stem Cells Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- East China University of Science and Technology
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences