Hybrid Clone
Scientists have cloned a hybrid of a domestic sheep with a wild ram
Press Center of the Ministry of Education and Science
Russian scientists have cloned a hybrid lamb bred after crossing a domestic sheep with a mountain wild ram — the Pamir argali. This is the world's first cloned hybrid lamb obtained using genetic material from wild fauna. The results obtained by scientists open up new prospects in the development of genomic editing technologies — one of the priority directions of scientific and technological development of the country in the field of agriculture. The work was carried out by employees of the Federal Research Center of Animal Husbandry subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia — VIZ. academician L.K. Ernst.
"Somatic cloning is the most effective technological platform for obtaining farm animals with an edited genome. Genomic editing makes it possible to change the genome in a targeted way and obtain animals with desirable productive, technological and other economically useful qualities. The development of cloning technology will allow us to put the creation of such animals on stream," said the director of FITZ VISION im. Academician L.K. Ernst, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Natalia Zinovieva.
Scientists have conducted several stages of scientific research. First, they received and put into the cryobank lines of embryonic donor cells of nuclei for cloning. For the first time in the world, hybrid cell lines have been obtained, the genome of which is derived by ¾ from domestic sheep and by ¼ from wild argali sheep. In total, three different hybrid lines were obtained.
Next, the researchers determined the sex of the obtained cell lines and selected a male line. This will make it possible to multi-replicate high-value genotypes. The next stage was the implementation of cellular engineering manipulations, obtaining cloned embryos and cultivating them outside the body for several days, which helped to assess their abilities for further development.
Cloning of animals is a technologically complex and time—consuming process that requires the involvement of highly qualified specialists with various complementary competencies — cytologists, cell engineers, embryologists, reproductologists, veterinary surgeons.
For the transplantation of cloned embryos, the authors used the method of endosurgical (laparoscopic) embryo transplantation in cooperation with specialists of the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology — MBA named after K.I. Scriabin.
Currently, FITZVIZH im. Academician L.K. Ernst is working on further improving the efficiency of cloning technology. It will help to widely introduce genomic editing technologies into the practice of agricultural production, as well as restore small populations of wild animals within the framework of preserving the genetic resources of the animal world.
The research was carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and the Russian Science Foundation.
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