Cloned Cow-calf:
The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal has produced cloned female calves of the desi breed Gir.
- Cloned Cow-calf is India’s first cloned Gir female calf named Ganga.
- To clone the Gir, oocytes are isolated from live animals using ultrasound-guided needles, and then, matured for 24 hours under control conditions.
- The somatic cells of elite cows are used as donor genomes, which are fused with OPU-derived enucleated oocytes. Following chemical activation and in-vitro culture, the developed blastocysts are transferred into recipient mothers to deliver the Gir calf.
Cloning:
- The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity.
- Cloning can be natural or artificial.
- Clones can also be produced through artificial means. Biotechnological methods are employed to produce such clones.
- Molecular cloning, where copies of specific gene fragments are produced
- Cellular cloning, where single-celled organisms with the exact genetic content of the original cell are produced in cell cultures.
- Organism cloning, or reproductive cloning, where a multicellular clone is created generally through somatic cell nuclear transfer
