Scientists have managed to successfully clone a mouflon lamb, the first time that an attempt to clone an endangered species has been successful. Other attempts have resulted in a live birth but this has been followed by premature death of the offspring. The European Mouflon is a rare breed of sheep found on the mediterranean islands of Sardinia, Corsica and Cyprus.
The European team, led by Pasqualino Loi of the University of Teramo, Italy, in conjunction with scientists from the Roslin Institute in Scotland, cloned the lamb using the same technique used to produce Dolly the sheep. The genetic material of a ewe found dead in a Sicilian wildlife rescue centre was used. DNA was taken from the carcass and placed in empty egg cells 'donated' by domestic sheep. The resulting embryos were carried to term by other domestic sheep acting as surrogates. Genetic test have revealed that the lamb, now six months old, is a true clone.
The Roslin Institute's Dr Michael Clinton said that the breakthrough 'does strengthen the argument that we should create databanks of genetic materials which, as a last resort, could be used to clone species on the endangered list'.
Sources and References
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Endangered sheep cloned
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Cloned lamb gives hope to rare breeds
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