Scientists in China have cloned three “super cows" that when fully grown will be able to produce 18 tons of milk every year. In its entire lifetime, the super cows will produce more than 100 tons. The cloning of these cows, which began last year, was done in cooperation between China’s Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University. The scientists used batch breeding technology for in vitro production of dairy cow embryos in Lingwu City. According to the country’s state-affiliated media outlet, NXN News, this ground-breaking cloning attempt will let China gain independence from the heavy imports it has to rely on other countries for dairy products.
This cloning project focused on somatic cell cloning. The scientists collected ear tissue from cows on different farms in China. Then, they used cell technologies to transfer the cells into fibroblasts and create embryos.
The first calf to be born through this genetic cloning is 78 cm tall. It weighs 57 kilograms and is in good health. These super cows are now considered to be part of the 100-ton star cattle group.
“The first batch of somatic cell cloned embryos transplanted a total of 120 cows, and successfully achieved complete replication. The cloned cows were healthy on clinical examination, and their body shape and colour were exactly the same as those of the somatic cell donor cows. The pregnancy rate of cloned embryos was 42% in the initial inspection, and the cloned embryos were more than 200 days old. The pregnancy rate is 17.5%, which is at the international advanced level,” Professor Jin Yaping from Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University was quoted as saying,
The Lingwu Breeding Base has established two key facilities in the country. These are the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University Professional Degree Postgraduate Practice Base and the Dairy Cow Healthy Breeding Experimental Demonstration Base. On these two key facilities, over 30 teachers and students worked to solve key problems that have obstructed the growth of the country’s dairy industry. Their goal was to cultivate a talented team. This team will help contribute to the spread of high-quality dairy cows. It will improve the industry’s self-sufficiency.
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