UPSC Prelims 2020 Question:

Consider the following statements

1. Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent.
2. A person's genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage. 
3. Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• In Germ line gene therapy, ‘normal’ human genes are introduced into the 'eggs or sperm' of parents, or into the fertilised egg or 'early embryo' of the offspring. The goal is to change the eventual child's genetic inheritance. This could be done in order to avoid a genetic disease or in order to introduce an ‘enhancing’ genetic variation. In embryonic genetic editing, it is possible to make genome changes to eliminate the vertical transfer (through inheritance) of certain diseases and medical conditions. So, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
  
  

• Due to similar organ size, close anatomy, and physiology between pig and human, human-pig interspecies chimeric model in which pig serves as the host species can be used for studying human embryogenesis, disease pathogenesis, and generation of human organ for transplantation to solve the worldwide donor organ shortage. Scientists have injected various types of human pluripotent stem cells into embryos of pigs which can develop into any cell type and into balls of cells called blastocysts that become embryos. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.

Subject: Science & Technology | Biotechnology