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Three cloned pigs born successfully in Harbin

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China's first cloned Northeast Min pig using adult somatic cells as nuclear donors has been born in Harbin. Three adorable black cloned piglets, just three days old, met with the media. This is also China's second successful cloned pig, following China Agricultural University. According to project leader Dr. Liu Zhonghua of the College of Life Sciences at Northeast Agricultural University, the difference between their cloned Northeast Min pig and previous cloned pigs lies in the use of adult somatic cells as nuclear donors; the donor nuclear cells were taken from a 3-day-old Northeast Min piglet

China's first cloned Northeast Min pig using adult somatic cells as nuclear donors has been born in Harbin. Three adorable black cloned piglets, just three days old, met with the media. This is also China's second successful cloned pig, following China Agricultural University.

According to project leader Dr. Liu Zhonghua of the College of Life Sciences at Northeast Agricultural University, the difference between their cloned Northeast Min pig and previous cloned pigs lies in the use of adult somatic cells as nuclear donors; the donor nuclear cells were taken from a 3-day-old Northeast Min piglet, whereas the nuclear donor cells of China's previous cloned pigs were taken from a 33-day-old fetus. The technical difficulty is somewhat higher.

While studying in the United States, Liu Zhonghua participated in research on China's first interspecies cloned giant panda implanting in a domestic cat's uterus and China's first cloned cow. After returning to China, with support from the "211 Project" talent special fund of Northeast Agricultural University, the Overseas Scholars Fund of the Heilongjiang Provincial Department of Education, and provincial and municipal science and technology departments, Liu Zhonghua and Harbin Sanyuan Livestock Industry Co., Ltd. jointly carried out the research project "Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Research on Northeast Min Pigs." After painstaking efforts, on the 12th, at the breeding pig farm of Harbin Sanyuan Livestock Industry Co., Ltd., 3 healthy cloned Northeast Min pigs were successfully delivered by cesarean section. The three cloned piglets are entirely black, developing normally, and all morphological characteristics are completely consistent with the individual that provided the donor nuclear cells.

The Northeast Min pig is an excellent local pig breed distributed in Northeast China, currently on the verge of extinction. Bao Jun, vice president of Northeast Agricultural University and livestock expert, told reporters that the birth of this adult somatic cell nuclear transfer Northeast Min pig provides an effective auxiliary means for the protection of genetic resources of Northeast Min pigs and other local high-quality pig breeds, and also provides the most effective means for producing genetically modified livestock with high-quality traits.

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