Suppose your mentor wanted to create a hybrid sea urchin species to study whethe

Question

Suppose your mentor wanted to create a hybrid sea urchin species to study whether acutely introducing large-scale genetic diversity increases life span. To make the hybrid species, she decided to mix sperm from Arbacia luxila and eggs from Lytechinus variegatus in a very small petri dish in an in vitro fertilization assay with hopes to raise the progeny from this process. Since you're taking Developmental Biology, you know this will never work! Why won't this work? What could you suggest to improve on her assay to make the in vitrofertilization assay work?

Explanation / Answer

Reasons why the mentioned assay will not work:

Suggestion for improvement of assay:

The methodology of somatic cell hybridization can be used. For this, the protoplasts of the somatic cells (not gametes) from required species can be fused using electroshock, Polyethylene glycol or UV inactivated virus, Calcium ions etc. The two cells when undergo fusion will form heterokaryon and then further undergo mitosis to form the hybrid cells and hence may continue the progeny.

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