Recent advances and future options for New Zealand agriculture derived from animal cloning and transgenics

摘要

Abstract An efficient animal cloning technology, using the procedure of nuclear transfer (NT), coupled with the genetic modification of cultured cells, would provide many new opportunities for livestock agriculture. It is still remarkable that NT using differentiated donor cells can produce physiologically normal animals, but the process is inefficient and highly prone to epigenetic errors. Aberrant patterns of gene expression in clones contribute to the cumulative losses and abnormal phenotypes observed throughout development. This raises animal welfare concerns that currently limit the acceptability and applicability of the technology. Importantly, it appears that these clone‐associated phenotypes are not transmitted to offspring following sexual reproduction. It is expected that methods which improve the reprogramming of the donor genome following NT will increase cloning efficiencies to realise the full potential of this reproductive technology. Efficient cloning potentially enables rapid disseminatio...