A fly that became able to do the first ``virgin conception'' by genetic manipulation was born, at first looking for a male but giving up in the second half of life and reproducing only with a female

In the past, mice and frogs were born that did not inherit any genes from their male parents, but these were created by manipulating egg cells. Unlike these cases, it was reported that by genetically manipulating flies to give them the ability to

This time, a research team led by Alexis Sperling of the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK succeeded in creating flies that can reproduce parthenogenetically. Mr. Sperling said about the trigger of the research, ``I wanted to elucidate the virgin birth after my pet praying mantis laid eggs with only a female.''

To understand the mechanism of virgin birth, the research team first decoded the genomes of two strains of Drosophila mercatorum, a type of fruit fly. This type of fly usually reproduces by mating a female and a male, but since there are strains that reproduce parthenogenetically with only females, it is possible to compare the genomes of these two strains. It is possible to identify deep genes.

The research team that identified the genes related to parthenogenesis in this way then manipulated the genes of Drosophila melanogaster, which is widely used as a model organism, and the flies acquired the ability to reproduce parthenogenesis.

Genetically engineered Drosophila melanogaster females mate normally and reproduce sexually if males are present, but when isolated from males, they reproduce parthenogenetically at a rate of 1-2%. All of the flies produced by this method were female, and they reproduced parthenogenetically at the same rate as their parents.

“We are the first to show that animals can be genetically engineered to give birth to virgin births,” Sperling said. I was very excited,' he said.

Six years were spent on this research, and more than 220,000 flies were born in the laboratory.

According to Mr. Sperling, the genetically engineered fly female waited for a male for about 40 days, which is half of her life, but then gave up and started breeding by virgin birth. It is not clear why animals that normally reproduce sexually reproduce parthenogenetically, but Mr. Sperling believes that it is a 'last resort' to keep the species alive.

Mr. Sperling is currently conducting research on the phenomenon that pests that adversely affect agriculture become parthenogenetic. “If pests continue to be under selective pressure of virgin births, they will eventually reproduce only by virgin births. It could be a big problem for us,' Sperling said.