Agro-Biotech News

University of Cambridge researchers were able to identify the genes responsible for parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth.” They were able to confirm the genes' function and, for the first time, engineered virgin birth to happen in an animal that is known to sexually reproduce. Initially, the researchers sequenced two strains of Drosophila mercatorum. One of the strains needed males to reproduce, while the other was known to undergo parthenogenesis.