Recently, cloning from the realm of science fiction has moved into the category of those branches of science that seem mundane to us. For example, we recently wrote that a group of scientists from China managed to clone several piglets at once. And now their colleagues at Sinogene announced that they have bred the world's first genetically modified cloned dog.
The first cloned dog in the world belongs to the beagle breed and has already received the nickname Lun Lun. Man's four-legged friend was bred by cloning a somatic cell. Recall that when using this method, in simple words, DNA is “removed” from the cell nucleus, after which, with the help of artificial insemination, the genetic material is placed into the body of the “mother”, which bears and gives birth to a clone in a natural way.
Lun Lun. The world's first genetically modified cloned dog
It is worth saying that despite the fact that Chinese scientists are only the second in the world to apply this technology (the first were experts from South Korea), the Chinese have something to be proud of. Their clone is so far the first and only one that was bred by gene knockout. This is a method of molecular genetics, in which specified genes are removed or disabled from the body. Thus, it is possible to "regulate" those traits, the development of which is necessary for the future clone, and to exclude "unnecessary" ones.
Based on materials from RIA Novosti