Manufactured hexaparental mice show that adults are derived from three embyronic cells.
Two female chimeric mice have been produced by aggregates of three genetically marked eight-cell embryos. All three embryonic genotypes are clearly expressed in the pigment pattern of the adults. These hexaparental mice together with their littermates demonstrate that, in the 64-celled blastocyst, at least three cells, and probably only three, are the source of all adult tissues.
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002678:Chimera; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation