 |
|
Knoxville, TN (August 28, 2000) - Researchers with the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station announced the birth of the United States' first Jersey calf cloned from an adult somatic cell. The calf, Millennium - Millie for short - was born August 23, weighing a healthy 62 pounds. Millie joins the exclusive family of bovine clones worldwide. She is among the first three bovine clones in the U.S. originating from adult somatic cells. However, Millie is extremely special because the other two U.S. clones of adult bovines were produced using technology similar to that which produced Dolly the sheep. Millie was produced using standard cell- culturing techniques. This finding confirms that scientists do not have to use patented cell preparation technology to clone adult animals. "Cloning procedures are more simple than we first thought," says Dr. Lannett Edwards, who leads the research team responsible for Millie. Edwards works in collaboration with her colleague and husband Dr. Neal Schrick. Both are faculty members with UT's Department of Animal Science. Edwards explains the technique used to produce Millie, "Basically, we introduced the nucleus of a somatic cell into an egg from which we had previously removed all nuclear material. The result was a one-cell cloned embryo with the same DNA as the cow that donated the somatic cell. What is exciting is that we did not have to induce the somatic cell into a 'quiet' state before using it for cloning," she said. The cloned embryos matured for seven days, and Schrick then transferred them into recipient cows, or surrogate mothers. Then the team waited. "We had nine pregnancies, and we were lucky to have even one of the clones mature to full term," Edwards said. Millie was born after a normal gestation of 278 days. While they were waiting, Schrick monitored the advancing pregnancies using ultrasound technology to assess fetal progress. Scientists are unsure why success rates in cloning experiments remain extremely low. The UT team achieved one clone from an initial group of 95 embryos, which is a significant improvement over the rate of one in 277 attempts that produced Dolly. The UT team hopes to duplicate or exceed this rate in future attempts. Teresa, the cow that donated the somatic cell, is worth replicating. She was the state's top- milking Jersey in her age group in 1999, when she produced 30,382 pounds of milk. This is at least 14,000 pounds more than most Jerseys. According to the American Jersey Cattle Association, Jerseys produce the highest quality milk for human food, with 20 percent more protein and 15 percent more calcium than average milk. Millie will be the first clone of an adult animal registered with the American Jersey Cattle Association, and as she matures her production statistics will be carefully monitored to see how they compare with Teresa's. "This also makes Millie special when compared to other clones," said Edwards. "Teresa was born on the Knoxville Experiment Station and we have production records for her entire life. When Millie matures, she will be among the first clones whose production records can be critically compared to her genetic equal." Edwards is conducting animal cloning research to expand scientific knowledge to improve the quality of life for consumers and producers. Cloned cattle have the potential to improve the quality of beef and dairy products as well as the potential to enhance a farmer's profitability. The research also has implications for human-related therapies, she said. "We are just now beginning to understand how this technology can benefit humans through the production of transgenic animals that can produce pharmaceuticals or organs for donation," she said. Jack Britt, UT vice president and lead administrator of the Institute of Agriculture said the cloned calf represents a glimpse at the future of agricultural research. "Biotechnology will play a key role in the 21st century in terms of feeding the growing world population. Millie represents the UT Institute of Agriculture's investment in necessary, future-oriented agricultural research." More cloning research is underway. Edwards and her team, in collaboration with Schrick and UT animal scientist Stephen Oliver, are ultimately interested in identifying farm animals that carry genes resistant to disease and in using cloning technology to improve dairy and beef herds. Millie's birth was announced during the UT's Strategic Research Forum. The forum brought together representatives from academia, industry, and government to discuss research strategies and initiatives that will increase UT's economic impact on the state and region and help move the university into the ranks of the nation's top 25 public research institutions. ### Contact: Patricia Clark McDaniels
|
|
