Cloning Will Revive Nearly Extinct Cattle Species

INDIA - Enthused by possibilities of cloning giving a new lease of life to endangered species, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) is all set to produce cloned varieties of such animals using nuclear transfer technology by next year.
calendar icon 5 August 2010
clock icon 2 minute read

"Cloning holds the future possibility bringing back long extinct animals, whose DNA material can still be found as it holds the entire information of creating the organism", TANUVAS Vice Chancellor Dr P Thangaraju told The Deccan Herald.

Mr Thangaraju said that among their first tasks would be to work on reviving some old endangered cattle species, for which TANUVAS has already set up a high tech research laboratory.

A team has been formed and has started working on standardised techniques for cloning sheep and rabbits, he told PTI.

The technology involves transferring the complete genetic material from the nucleus of a cultured donor cell to a mature recipient egg, whose nucleus has been removed. The resulting offspring are genetically identical to the founder animal who supplied the donor nucleus.

Pointing out that scientists all over the world have for long been trying to clone animals, he said the process fails many a time during pregnancy or due to some birth defects.

"The outcome of our research cannot be predicted immediately as it involves many permutations and combinations to produce a healthy animal from cloning", he said.

Mr Thangaraju said TANUVAS has also submitted a project to the Centre for further funding for research on cloning.

"For the first time in the country, after using autologous (patient derived) stem cell therapy for management of a dog's spinal cord injury, we plan to set up an umbilical cord cell bank for animals, especially for dogs and horses," he said.

The bank, with a high-tech laboratory, would help treat animals through stem cell procedure, he said.

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