freemartin

A freemartin or free-martin (sometimes martin heifer) is an infertile female mammal which has masculinized behavior and non-functioning ovaries.^[1] Genetically and externally the animal is female, but it is sterilized in the womb by hormones from a male twin, becoming an infertile partial intersex. Freemartinism is the normal outcome of mixed-sex twins in all cattle species that have been studied, and it also occurs occasionally in other mammals including sheep, goats and pigs.

History

The 18th-century physician John Hunter discovered that a freemartin always has a male twin.^[2]
"It was hypothesized early in the 20th century that masculinizing factors travel from the male twin to the female twin through the vascular connections of the placenta because of the vascular fusion and affect the internal anatomy of the female." ^[3]
Several researchers made the discovery that a freemartin results when a female fetus has its chorion fuse in the uterus with that of a male twin. The result was published in 1916 by Tandler and Keller^[4]. The discovery was made independently by American biologist Frank R. Lillie, who published it in Science in 1916^[5]. Both teams are now credited with the discovery.^[6]

In rural areas folklore often claimed this condition was not just peculiar to cattle, but extended also to human twins; this belief perpetuated for generations, as was mentioned in the writings of Bede.^[7]

Mechanism

In most cattle twins, the blood vessels in the chorions become interconnected, allowing blood from each twin to flow around the other. If both fetuses are the same sex this is of no significance, but if they are different, male hormones pass from the male twin to the female twin. The male hormones then masculinize the female twin, and the result is a freemartin^[8]. The degree of masculinization is greater if the fusion occurs earlier in the pregnancy – in about ten percent of cases no fusion takes place and the female remains fertile.

The male twin is largely unaffected by the fusion, although the size of the testicles may be slightly reduced. Testicle size is associated with fertility, so there may be some reduction in bull fertility.

Freemartins behave and grow in a similar way to castrated male cattle (steers).

Diagnosis

If suspected, a test can be done to detect the presence of the male Y-chromosomes in some circulating white blood cells of the subject. Genetic testing for the Y-chromosome can be performed within days of birth and can aid in the early identification of a sterile female bovine.

Physical examination of the calf may also reveal differences: many (but not all) freemartins have a short vagina compared with that of a fertile heifer.^[9]

Other animals

A freemartin is the normal outcome of mixed twins in all cattle species which have been studied. It does not normally occur in most other mammals, though it has been recorded in sheep^[10] goats^[11] and pigs.^[12]

Uses

Freemartins are occasionally used in stem cell and immunology research.^[13] During fetal development cells are exchanged between the fused circulations of the bovine twins. Up to 95% of the freemartin's blood cells can be derived from those of its twin brother. Male-derived cells and their progeny can be easily visualized in the freemartin tissues, as only they contain the male Y chromosome. Thus, by analyzing these tissues, one is able to investigate the capacity of hematopoietic stem cells or other circulating cells to produce other tissues in addition to blood. The freemartin model allows one to analyze perfectly healthy and unmanipulated animals, without resorting to transplantation often used in stem cell research.

Fictional use

• In the Aldous Huxley novel Brave New World, a "freemartin" (mentioned in chapters 1, 3, 11 and 17) is a woman who has been deliberately made sterile by exposure to hormones during fetal development; in the book, government policy requires freemartins to form 70% of the female population.
• The Robert A. Heinlein novel Beyond This Horizon lists "the clever and repulsively beautiful pseudo-feminine freemartins" as one of the genetically-engineered specialist types of humans that were created in the "Empire of the Great Khans" (chapter 2).
• In the crime novel Freemartin, by David Cohler, an FtM transgender man is a murderer.
• In the fantasy book series Bazil Broketail by Christopher Rowley, "freemartin" is the name for a breed of sterile female dragons.
• In the Robert Heinlein novel Farnham's Freehold, the protagonist, Hugh Farnham, is given a companion (bedwarmer) that is described as a natural freemartin.

References

External links

• Mosaicism and Chimerism at colostate.edu
• Picture at agric.gov.ab.ca