Scientists in China have successfully cloned two Tibetan goats for the very first time, according to Chinese media. It is hoped the feat will help to support wider breeding efforts of the animal breed, which is prized for its luscious cashmere wool.
The pair were recently born in Qinghai, a province of northwest China that borders Tibet. The cloned goats were created by a team of researchers at Northwest A&F University using somatic cell cloning, CCTV reports.
“Two cloned goats have been born in Qinghai. The firstborn weighed 3.4 kilograms [7.4 pounds] and is healthy,” Su Jianmin, the chief scientist leading the cloning program, told Xinhua news agency.
Other than this, details about the project are skimp and it’s not clear whether the findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Chinese state media did, however, release a video of the adorable cloned kid with its mother.
Somatic cell cloning involves inserting the nucleus of a somatic cell (any cell other than a sperm or egg cell) into an egg cell that has been stripped of its nuclei. The reconstructed cell can then be stimulated to undergo cell division and develop into a fully-fledged organism that is genetically identical to the donor of the somatic cell nucleus.
The same technique has previously been used to clone numerous species of mammal, including “Dolly the sheep”, as well as mice, ferrets, rabbits, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, and the ill-fated Pyrenean ibex. It’s even been used to clone a similar breed to the Tibetan goat, known as the Himalayan goat, native to the mountains of Kashmir.
In recent times, China has become somewhat of a pioneer in this field. Earlier this year, Chinese researchers published a study that demonstrated how they successfully cloned a rhesus monkey using somatic cell nuclear transfer. His name is “ReTro”, named after one of the techniques used in his creation: trophoblast replacement.
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