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The tiny pups’ genomes have been altered to eliminate a gene linked to cancer and other diseases.
beagle puppies
Genetically modified animals were cloned from skin cells for the first time in history. Scientific advances may result in purebred dogs leading healthier lives as a lack of genetic diversity makes them prone to inherited diseases such as heart, skin, bone and eye problems.
The new technique could make it possible to eliminate the disorders before birth because the puppies’ genomes have been altered to eliminate the DJ1 gene, which is linked to cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and stroke.
While the DJ1 gene was just a test deletion to see if the process works — and to study the gene’s role — the team say they’ve already corrected a genetic condition in a dog and will be publishing the research soon becomes.
Scientist Okjae Koo of South Korean biotechnology company ToolGen, which conducted the cloning process with Chungnam National University, told The Telegraph that the process is the “first step of research” and that the ultimate goal is to “cure dogs with it”. Technology of inbreedinginduced pathogenic mutations”.
“We have a plan to use this technology to cure pathogenic mutations from various dogs and we are developing gene therapy products to cure animals,” Koo added.
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Dog cloning has become popular in recent years
, with many owners choosing to create a “genetic twin” of a dead or dying pet. Unlike offspring, cloned animals tend to exhibit the same intelligence, temperament, and appearance as their twins, but are also prone to the same health problems.
possibilities of the new technology
The new technique could make it possible to remove the disease that caused the animal’s death before the cloning process, as well as other unhealthy traits.
The process of cloning a dog with a skin cell is called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Scientists remove the nucleus from an egg and replace it with the nucleus of another body cell, in this case a beagle skin cell.
Before the skin cell is placed in the egg, its DNA is tweaked using a technique known as Crispr, which acts like molecular scissors to cut out harmful or unwanted parts of the genome.
Scientists then use artificial insemination to place the egg clone into a surrogate mother. It’s a similar process to the creation of Dolly the sheep in 1996, although no genetic changes took place before the cells were placed in the egg. The new research was published in the journal BMC Biotechnology.
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