Production of the First Cloned Camel by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer1

Abstract

In this study, we demonstrate the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer to produce the first cloned camelid, a dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) belonging to the family Camelidae. Donor karyoplasts were obtained from adult skin fibroblasts, cumulus cells, or fetal fibroblasts, and in vivo-matured oocytes, obtained from preovulatory follicles of superstimulated female camels by transvaginal ultrasound guided ovum pick-up, were used as cytoplasts. Reconstructed embryos were cultured in vitro for 7 days up to the hatching/hatched blastocyst stage before they were transferred to synchronized recipients on Day 6 after ovulation. Pregnancies were achieved from the embryos reconstructed from all cell types, and a healthy calf, named Injaz, was born from the pregnancy by an embryo reconstructed with cumulus cells. Genotype analyses, using 25 dromedary camel microsatellite markers, confirmed that the cloned calf was derived from the donor cell line and the ovarian tissue. In conclusion, the present study reports, for the first time, establishment of pregnancies and birth of the first cloned camelid, a dromedary camel (C. dromedarius), by use of somatic cell nuclear transfer. This has opened doors for the amelioration and preservation of genetically valuable animals like high milk producers, racing champions, and males of high genetic merit in camelids. We also demonstrated, for the first time, that adult and fetal fibroblasts can be cultured, expanded, and frozen without losing their ability to support the development of nuclear transfer embryos, a technology that may potentially be used to modify fibroblast genome by homologous recombination so as to generate genetically altered cloned animals.

Modern Approach in Animal Breeding by Use of Advanced Molecular Genetic Techniques

“…According to Plume K. (2009) there are around 6000 farm animals' clones worldwide. The cloning technology has been applied in the breeding of elite cattle (Kato et al, 1998), goat (Baguisi et al, 1999), pig (Polejaeva et al, 2000), buffalo (Shi et al, 2007), camel (Wani et al, 2010), Rabbet (Chesne et al, 2002) and other pet species like dog, cat, rat, ferret, mouse (Wakayama …”

Review on current application of genomic biotechnologies to improve livestock and livestock products

“…Today, there are estimated to be around 6000 farm animal clones worldwide (Plume, 2009). The cloning technology has been applied in the breeding of elite cattle (Kato et al,1998), goat (Baguisi et al,1999), pig (Polejaeva et al, 2000), horse (Galli et al,2003), buffalo (Shi et al,2007), camel (Wani et al,2010), Rabbet (Chesne et al, 2002) and other pet species like dog, cat, rat, ferret, mouse (Wakayama et al,1999;Roslin Institute online, 2003;Lee et al,2005and Shin et al,2002. Cloning is an asexual reproduction of genetically identical organism can be achieved by nuclear transfer (NT) or by embryo splitting (Abu et al, 2008).…”

“…The reconstructed embryo is cultured in vitro or in vivo (g) and then transferred to a surrogate animal for gestation (h). The offspring is a clone of the donor animal (figure: 1) (Campbell et al, 2007 andWani et al, 2010). Cloning technology is already being used commercially in some parts of the world for the replication of elite breeding animals, mostly cattle, which are used to produce animals farmed for food production.…”

Derivation and application of pluripotent stem cells for regenerative medicine

“…Thereafter, mouse (Wakayama et al, 1998), cow (Cibelli et al, 1998;Kato et al, 1998), goat (Baguisi et al, 1999), pig (Betthauser et al, 2000;Onishi et al, 2000;Polejaeva et al, 2000), cat (Shin et al, 2002), rabbit (Chesne et al, 2002), mule (Woods et al, 2003), horse (Galli et al, 2003), rat (Zhou et al, 2003), dog (Lee et al, 2005), ferret (Li et al, 2006), and camel (Wani et al, 2010) were successively cloned. In 2006, cloned rhesus monkey blastocysts were generated, yet no cloned monkey have been produced so far .…”