Indian scientists are rejoiced at having ?done a Dolly in India?. The first attempt might have received a setback, with the buffalo calf dying in five days of birth.
National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) scientists, however, are confident of another calf soon and are busy explaining how their technique is superior to the one used in cloning the sheep named Dolly by scientists in a laboratory in Glasgow city in Scotland. A Pashmina goat is also on its way. We seem to be moving up the ladder in cloning world.
Globally, cloning activities have only intensified since last year in the wake of the US government permitting the marketing of food derived from cloned animals. After six years of intense research, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) decided in favour of cloning animals for food. The move suggests that meat and milk derived from cloned pigs, cattle and goats and their offspring, is safe. While some believe that the sale of products from cloned animals will not pick pace all of a sudden given the costs involved in cloning animals, it is expected that clones would first be used for breeding.
While the USFDA move has been the global trigger, Indian scientists are equally excited on the prospects and are fuelling it in the country as well. Recently, Indian scientists were in headlines when they cloned the world?s first buffalo calf using a technique superior to the one used in cloning Dolly. Though the calf died, NDRI claims the ?hand-guided cloning technique? was an advanced modification of the ?conventional cloning technique? used in cloning Dolly.
Nevertheless, NDRI scientists are hopeful that the new technique would lead to a new era in animal science for faster multiplication of superior germ plasm and meet the increasing demand of milk. Interestingly, the calf passed the testing phase as it was alive for five days.
All eyes are now on the research work of a team of scientists from Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, who are working on a project to clone the famous Pashmina goat. The success of this project could provide a fillip to fur trade. Under a World Bank-aided Rs 9 crore project, the scientists from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and NDRI will use somatic cells from the ear of a goat to produce the clone. The work on cloning of Pashmina goat has already commenced.
Once considered as miracles on earth, scientists feel that cloning is now becoming easier and better technologies are extending on larger animals. ?The success rate in cloning has remarkably improved by about 25% globally,? says Lalji Singh, director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). However, the Indian story of cloning is yet to gain traction as the scientists prefer to take a cautious approach. One story from CCMB which is still in the process of fructifying is that the Indian government is yet to get the genetic lines of cheetah from Iran, which has become nearly extinct in the country.
Nevertheless, some of the success stories of cloning include experiments on mouse and rabbit. Cloning is being mostly used in wildlife conservation. ?The need of the hour is to create cell animals which are on the verge of extinction. While the reproductive system for domestic animals is known, it is still a secret about wild animals,? says Singh. Moreover, there are governmental issues for conducting experiments with genetics, he observes. Incidentally, CCMB is the only facility in the country, which has a laboratory for conservation of endangered species to house certain species of lions, leopards, deers, turtle etc. However, the animals are yet to be transferred.
It is indeed ironical that despite the absence of any ethical issues in the country, cloning is yet to catch momentum here. Scientists feel that the importance of cloning is still misunderstood by many. In the US, large cows have been cloned and similarly sheep in the UK.
Perhaps, there are still cultural issues in getting the genetic lines for the crossover. India boasts of world?s best quality buffaloes and here, the new enhanced technique may make it possible to clone and multiply a number of calves from a single embryo taken from a buffalo of highest quality.
As Singh at CCMB puts it, if one wants to produce a high value product, the best option is to use stem cells, clone them and produce them which are also called transgenics. ?There is a purpose in cloning which acts like a bioreactor for high value products. Though it is not an expensive technology, it is the time factor involved,? he explains. Incidentally, CCMB is working out ?knock out? technology in buffaloes wherein, the milk protein genes are knocked out and replaced by high-value genes.
Are regulations in the country pulling the strings? The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has prepared guidelines for human cloning. Till date, only therapeutic cloning was allowed. Scientists feel this type of cloning should not be banned as it helps to look out for clues to treat various diseases.
Globally, the cloning scenario looks promising. According to Singh, there are about 500 cloned animals in the world, more so among domestic animals as it is not a desirable thing among wild life. As an essential criteria, cloning has to be done in wild life if the species are becoming extinct.
Going forward, there has to be proper licensing for cloning of human embryo up to a certain stage similar to that in the UK. Says Singh, the government has to give a license on a case to case basis. As of now, CCMB and Kolkata-based Institute of Reproductive Medicine may become the first institutes to approach the government for conducting research on embryonic stem cells for certain nervous disorders.
