Survival of glucose phosphate isomerase null somatic cells and germ cells in adult mouse chimaeras

The mouse Gpi1 gene encodes the glycolytic enzyme glucose phosphate isomerase. Homozygous Gpi1(−/−) null mouse embryos die but a previous study showed that some homozygous Gpi1(−/−) null cells survived when combined with wild-type cells in fetal chimaeras. One adult female Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c) chimaera with functional Gpi1(−/−) null oocytes was also identified in a preliminary study. The aims were to characterise the survival of Gpi1(−/−) null cells in adult Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c) chimaeras and determine if Gpi1(−/−) null germ cells are functional. Analysis of adult Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c) chimaeras with pigment and a reiterated transgenic lineage marker showed that low numbers of homozygous Gpi1(−/−) null cells could survive in many tissues of adult chimaeras, including oocytes. Breeding experiments confirmed that Gpi1(−/−) null oocytes in one female Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c) chimaera were functional and provided preliminary evidence that one male putative Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c) chimaera produced functional spermatozoa from homozygous Gpi1(−/−) null germ cells. Although the male chimaera was almost certainly Gpi1(−/−)↔Gpi1(c/c), this part of the study is considered preliminary because only blood was typed for GPI. Gpi1(−/−) null germ cells should survive in a chimaeric testis if they are supported by wild-type Sertoli cells. It is also feasible that spermatozoa could bypass a block at GPI, but not blocks at some later steps in glycolysis, by using fructose, rather than glucose, as the substrate for glycolysis. Although chimaera analysis proved inefficient for studying the fate of Gpi1(−/−) null germ cells, it successfully identified functional Gpi1(−/−) null oocytes and revealed that some Gpi1(−/−) null cells could survive in many adult tissues.