Is meiosis used in labs? Really?
I read somewhere that meiosis is used in laboratory techniques and tissue culture. Is that true? I thought meiosis only happens in our bodies to make sperm and eggs. Can someone explain how scientists use meiosis phases in real experiments or biotech? Thanks!
3 Views
Yes, it’s true – scientists do use knowledge of meiosis in labs, even though natural meiosis happens in gonads. In biotechnology, researchers can induce or mimic meiotic division in cell cultures to produce haploid cells or gamete-like cells. For example, in infertility research, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be guided to go through meiosis phases in vitro to form functional sperm or egg precursors. This is called in vitro gametogenesis. Also, understanding crossing over and recombination in prophase I helps scientists design better gene editing strategies or create genetic diversity in plant breeding (they use meiotic recombination to introduce useful traits). Tissue culture sometimes manipulates cell cycles to study meiotic checkpoints or to produce haploid plants (especially useful in crop improvement). The whole process is explained nicely here: phases of meiosis Very interesting topic!