Commercial animal cloning is the
cloning of animals for
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
purposes, currently, including livestock, competition camels and horses, pets, medical uses, endangered and extinct animals,
as first demonstrated in 1996 for
Dolly the sheep
Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female Finnish Dorset sheep and the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was cloned by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer from a ...
.
Cloning methods
Moving or copying all (or nearly all) genes from one
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
to form a second, genetically nearly identical, animal is usually done through one of three methods: the Roslin technique, the Honolulu technique, and Artificial Twinning. The first two of these involve a process known as
somatic cell nuclear transfer
In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory strategy for creating a viable embryo from a body cell and an egg cell. The technique consists of taking an enucleated oocyte (egg cell) and implanting a ...
.
In this process, an
oocyte
An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ...
is taken from a
surrogate
A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to:
Relationships
* Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...
mother and put through enucleation, a process that removes the nucleus from inside the oocyte.
Somatic cells
A somatic cell (from Ancient Greek σῶμα ''sôma'', meaning "body"), or vegetal cell, is any biological cell forming the body of a multicellular organism other than a gamete, germ cell, gametocyte or undifferentiated stem cell. Such cells compo ...
are then taken from the animal that is being cloned, transferred into the blank oocyte in order to provide genetic material, and fused with the oocyte using an electrical current. The oocyte is then activated and re-inserted into the
surrogate
A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to:
Relationships
* Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...
mother. The end result is the formation of an animal that is almost genetically identical to the animal the somatic cells were taken from.
While somatic cell nuclear transfer was previously believed to only work using genetic material from somatic cells that were unfrozen or were frozen with
cryoprotectant
A cryoprotectant is a substance used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (i.e. that due to ice formation). Arctic and Antarctic insects, fish and amphibians create cryoprotectants (antifreeze, antifreeze compounds and antifreeze prot ...
(to avoid cell damage caused by freezing), successful dog cloning in various breeds has now been shown using somatic cells from unprotected specimens that had been frozen for up to four days. Another method of cloning includes embryo splitting, the process of taking the
blastomeres
In biology, a blastomere is a type of cell produced by cell division (cleavage) of the zygote after fertilization; blastomeres are an essential part of blastula formation, and blastocyst formation in mammals.
Human blastomere characteristics
In h ...
from a very early animal embryo and separating them before they become
differentiated in order to create two or more separate organisms. When using embryo splitting, cloning must occur before the birth of the animal, and clones grow up at the same time (in a similar fashion to
monozygotic twins
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
).
Livestock cloning
The US Food and Drug Administration has concluded that "Food from cattle, swine, and goat clones is as safe to eat as food from any other cattle, swine, or goat."
[ It has also noted that "The main use of agricultural clones is to produce breeding stock, not food. Clones allow farmers to upgrade the overall quality of their herds by providing more copies of the best animals in the herd. These animals are then used for conventional breeding, and the sexually reproduced offspring become the food producing animals." Regardless, a large (million cloned cattle per year) ]Tianjin animal cloning center The Tianjin animal cloning center was planned in 2015 and "to be put into use in the first half of 2016" in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area of Tianjin, China, but as of 2022, no opening has been reported.
Development
The facto ...
was proposed in 2015 "to be put into use in the first half of 2016",, but as of 2022, no opening had been reported. The goals of cloning listed by the FDA include "disease resistance ... suitability to climate ... quality body type .. fertility ... and market preference (leanness, tenderness, color, size of various cuts, etc.")[
]
Competition horses and camels
Polo horses and camels are being cloned for competition use. Horse cloning is often referred to as "equine cloning". In 2012, Féderation Equestre Internationale (FEI) lifted a ban on horse cloning, allowing them to compete.
Medical uses
Organs from cloned pigs are beginning to be transplanted into human patients. (See Xenotransplantation
Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenograft ...
.)
Endangered and extinct animals
The only extinct animal to be cloned as of 2022 is a Pyrenean ibex, born on July 30, 2003, in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, which died minutes later due to physical defects in the lungs.
Endangered animals, to add genetic diversity to inbred species, are also being cloned in certain centers, notably ViaGen
ViaGen Pets, based in Cedar Park, Texas, is a division of TransOva Genetics, that offers animal cloning services to pet owners. ViaGen Pets division was launched in 2016.
ViaGen Pets offers cloning as well as DNA preservation services, sometim ...
, aided by the San Diego Frozen Zoo, and Revive & Restore.[ This is also referred to as "conservation cloning". Two examples are the black-footed ferret and Przewalski’s horse.]
In a recent study using sturgeons (species of fish in the Acipenseridae family), scientists have been making improvements to a technique called somatic nuclear cell transfer with the ultimate goal being to save endangered species. Sturgeons are endangered due to the high levels of poaching, increased destruction to habitats, water pollution, and overfishing. This makes this species a perfect candidate for improving this type of cloning method, in hopes of preserving natural populations from becoming endangered. The somatic nuclear cell transfer technique is a well-known cloning method that has been used for years but focuses on species that are thriving rather than those endangered or extinct animals. This technique usually uses a single somatic donor cell with a single manipulation and inserts it into a recipient egg of the species of interest. It has recently been found that the position by which that somatic cell is located inside the recipient is very important in order to successfully clone a species. By making adjustments to the original method of using a single somatic cell and instead use multiple somatic donor cells to insert into the recipient egg, the likeliness of the somatic donor cells being in the crucial position on the egg will increase tremendously. This increase will then result in higher success rates with cloning. There is still o-going research using this improved method happening but from the data collected thus far, it seems to be a reasonable method to continue and soon be able to help stop species like the sturgeons from becoming endangered and possibly stop extinction from occurring.
When it comes to the cloning of extinct animals, things become quite difficult because when death occurs, the animal's DNA starts to decay. This makes it impossible to fully preserve the entire genome by known cloning methods. New studies using genome editing, have made it possible to bring back traits of the extinct species. Currently, a lab at Harvard University's Wyss Institute, is working on a way to bring back a famously known extinct species referred to as the mammoth (or at least incorporate its traits into a closely related species). The goal is to genetically modify the mammoth's closely related living species, the elephant, in hopes of expanding available habitats of elephants and connecting lost ecological interactions. In order to make this goal possible, the team must first sequence and assemble the mammoth genome from preserved remains. After identifying the genome sequencing, a comparison of the extinct species and its closest living relative's genome can be made using advanced genome editing technology.
Studies have shown "cloning" of extinct animals is impossible, unlike currently living animals. As a closely related alternative, genome engineering seems to be the next best thing in making these long-gone species somewhat present in today's time. Methods like CRISPR/caps9 allow scientists to edit the genome of closely related relatives, allowing at least the traits of extinct animals to become present, which is essentially like bringing the extinct species back itself.
History and commercialization
ViaGen
ViaGen Pets, based in Cedar Park, Texas, is a division of TransOva Genetics, that offers animal cloning services to pet owners. ViaGen Pets division was launched in 2016.
ViaGen Pets offers cloning as well as DNA preservation services, sometim ...
began by offering cloning to the livestock and equine industry in 2003, and later as ViaGen Pets
ViaGen Pets, based in Cedar Park, Texas, is a division of TransOva Genetics, that offers animal cloning services to pet owners. ViaGen Pets division was launched in 2016.
ViaGen Pets offers cloning as well as DNA preservation services, sometim ...
included cloning of cats and dogs in 2016. ViaGen's subsidiary, stART Licensing, owns a cloning patent which is licensed to their only competitor as of 2018, who also offers animal cloning services. (Viagen is a subsidiary of Precigen
Precigen, Inc (formerly Intrexon Corporation, NASDAQ: PGEN) is an American biotechnology company. Its president and CEO is Helen Sabzevari.
Intrexon was founded in 1998, and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland. With a suite of proprietary an ...
.)
The first commercially cloned pet was a cat named Little Nicky
''Little Nicky'' is a 2000 American fantasy comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Brill, Adam Sandler, and Tim Herlihy, and starring Sandler in the title role, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Rhys Ifans, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., an ...
, produced in 2004 by Genetic Savings & Clone Genetic Savings & Clone, Inc. was a company headquartered in Sausalito, California that offered commercial pet gene banking and cloning services, between 2004 and 2006.
History
The company was founded as a result of the efforts to clone Lou Hawtho ...
for a north Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
woman for the fee of US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
50,000. On May 21, 2008, BioArts International announced a limited commercial dog cloning service (through a program it called Best Friends Again) in partnership with a Korean company named Sooam Biotech. This program came after the announcement of the successful cloning of a family dog named Missy, an achievement widely publicized in the Missyplicity
The Missyplicity Project was a project devoted to cloning Joan Hawthorne and John Sperling's dog, a border collie and husky mix. Missy died on July 6, 2002 at the age of 15 years.
History
In 1997, news that Dolly the sheep had been cloned ins ...
Project. In September 2009, BioArts announced the end of its dog cloning service. In July 2008, the Seoul National University
Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
(co-parents of Snuppy
Snuppy (Korean: 스너피 a portmanteau of " SNU" and "puppy"; April 24, 2005–May 2015) was an Afghan hound, the first dog clone. The puppy was created using a cell from an ear from an adult Afghan hound and involved 123 surrogate mothers, of ...
, reputedly the world's first cloned dog in 2005) created five clones of a dog named Booger for its Californian owner. The woman paid $50,000 for this service.
Sooam Biotech continued developing proprietary techniques for cloning dogs based on a licence from ViaGen's subsidiary, stART Licensing (which owned the original patent for the process of animal cloning.). (Although the animal itself is not patentable, the process is protected by a patent). Sooam created cloned puppies for owners whose dogs had died, charging $100,000 per clone. Sooam Biotech was reported to have cloned approximately 700 dogs by 2015 and to be producing 500 cloned embryos of various breeds a day in 2016. In 2015, the longest period after which Sooam Biotech could clone a puppy was 12 days from the death of the original pet dog.
Sinogene Biotechnology created the first Chinese clone dog in 2017 before commercializing the cloning service and joining in the pet cloning market. In 2019, Sinogene successfully created the first Chinese cloned cat.
Controversies
Animal welfare
The mortality rate for cloned animals is higher than for those born of natural processes. This includes a discrepancy pre-birth, during birth, and after birth in survival rates and quality of life, leading to ethical concerns. Many of these discrepancies are thought to come from maternal mRNA already present in the oocyte prior to the transfer of genetic material as well as from DNA methylation
DNA methylation is a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts t ...
, both of which contribute to the development of the animal in the womb of the surrogate. Some common issues seen with cloned animals are shortened telomeres
A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...
, the repetitive end sequences of DNA whose decreasing length over the lifespan of an organism have been associated with aging; large offspring syndrome, the abnormal size of cloned individuals due to epigenetic
In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "o ...
(gene expression) changes; and methylation patterns of genetic material that are so abnormal compared to standard embryos of the species being cloned as to be incompatible with life.
Pet cloning
While pet cloning is sometimes advertised as a prospective method for re-gaining a deceased companionship animal, pet cloning does not result in animals that are exactly like the previous pet (in looks or personality). Although the animal in question is cloned, there are still phenotypical differences that may affect its appearance or health. This issue was brought to light in the cloning of a cat named Rainbow. Rainbow's clone, later named CC, was genetically identical to Rainbow, yet CC's coloring patterns were not the same due to the development of the kitten inside the womb as well as random genetic disparities in the clone such as variable X-chromosome inactivation
X-inactivation (also called Lyonization, after English geneticist Mary Lyon) is a process by which one of the copies of the X chromosome is inactivated in therian female mammals. The inactive X chromosome is silenced by being packaged into ...
.
Despite its controversies, the study of pet cloning holds the potential to contribute to scientific
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, veterinary, and medical knowledge, and it is a potential resource in efforts to preserve endangered cousins of the cat and dog.
In 2005, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
Assembly Member Lloyd Levine
Lloyd Edward Levine (born July 3, 1969) is a United States Democratic Party, Democratic politician who represented California's 40th State Assembly district from December 2, 2002 to November 30, 2008. In the Assembly, Levine served as the Majori ...
introduced a bill to ban the sale or transfer of pet clones in California. That bill was voted down.
See also
* Biobank
A biobank is a type of biorepository that stores biological samples (usually human) for use in research. Biobanks have become an important resource in medical research, supporting many types of contemporary research like genomics and personalize ...
* Cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
: term used in botany to refer to specific breeds (made using selective cross breeding and sometimes genetic modification) that have distinct properties. Often reproduced using cloning to avoid properties being lost due to sexual propagation.
* List of animals that have been cloned Banteng
*A Javan banteng calf was cloned from frozen cells using a cow as a surrogate, delivered via c-section on April 1, 2003, then hand raised at the San Diego Wild Animal Parks Infant Isolation Unit. It died due to an injury when it was less ...
* Working animal
A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for t ...
References
{{reflist
Pets
Cloning