Equinoxe
Not a pod person
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2005
- Posts
- 13,356
I had made reference to this phrase from English As She Is Spoke in a thread elsewhere and it led me to thinking about interesting aspects of marmoset biology—no, really!—which I feel like sharing, because what forum could possibly be complete without a thread about marmosets? Of course, the thread doesn't have to always be about marmosets, or even mostly—nor must it be about craunching. It can be about anything your imagination wants it to be about. Perhaps there will be a happy little tree in the corner.
Now on to it! Marmosets are always, or for all intents and purposes always, non-identical twins. At least in Wied's Marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii), there are several unusual aspects of this which have been observed. Specifically, these siblings have a tendency to share cells in utero, making chimerism a common occurrence (even statistically the norm)—thus marmosets often have multiple sets of DNA. This occurs in a number of species, including humans, on rare occasions, but is common in marmosets and seems to be selected for. It gets stranger, however. Chimerism in marmosets is, in addition to being common, quite extensive, and marmoset twins often even share each other's germ cells (this is called germ-line chimerism). The end result of this is that, genetically, the offspring of one marmoset may actually be the offspring of her sibling. Oh, but things get stranger still. Non-identical twins are not necessarily of the same sex, so a marmoset may possess both XX and XY karyotypes: since they may actually produce viable germ cells of their sibling's genotype, a female marmoset may sometimes produce eggs of her brother's genotype—ergo, there is a possibility that a marmoset's genetic mother may be her uncle.
I love nature in all its weirdness.
Now on to it! Marmosets are always, or for all intents and purposes always, non-identical twins. At least in Wied's Marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii), there are several unusual aspects of this which have been observed. Specifically, these siblings have a tendency to share cells in utero, making chimerism a common occurrence (even statistically the norm)—thus marmosets often have multiple sets of DNA. This occurs in a number of species, including humans, on rare occasions, but is common in marmosets and seems to be selected for. It gets stranger, however. Chimerism in marmosets is, in addition to being common, quite extensive, and marmoset twins often even share each other's germ cells (this is called germ-line chimerism). The end result of this is that, genetically, the offspring of one marmoset may actually be the offspring of her sibling. Oh, but things get stranger still. Non-identical twins are not necessarily of the same sex, so a marmoset may possess both XX and XY karyotypes: since they may actually produce viable germ cells of their sibling's genotype, a female marmoset may sometimes produce eggs of her brother's genotype—ergo, there is a possibility that a marmoset's genetic mother may be her uncle.
I love nature in all its weirdness.
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