Cloning of a Deceased High-Performance Milking Camel Using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Author(s): Mohammad Shamim Hossein, Nabil Mansour, Young-Bum Son, Yeon Ik Jeong, Yeon Woo Jeong, Mina Kang, Huijeong Kim, Yura Bae, Han Seock Kim, Kyung Ik Hwang, Bo Hyun Eum, Ji Yong Noh, Kang Bae Park, Wongil Han, Fouad Lamghari, Mostafa Nasef, Theneyan Mohamed Al Busaidi, Woo Suk Hwang

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has the unique ability to replicate animals of high genetic merit, making it an exquisite tool in animal breeding. In this study, we successfully produced four cloned calves from a deceased high-performance milking camel. A total of 95 open female camels were involved, with 33 serving as oocyte donors and 62 as recipients. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from super-stimulated camels using ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up (OPU). Single, double, or 3-4 blastocysts at various stages of development were transferred to synchronized recipients. Pregnancy was confirmed through progesterone assays and ultrasonographic scanning, while parentage of the cloned calves was verified via microsatellite analysis. We collected 476 COCs from 614 follicles, achieving an average recovery rate of 76.9 ± 10.5%. Of these, 410 were at the metaphase II stage, resulting in an average maturation rate of 87.8 ± 12.6%. The average fusion, cleavage, and blastocyst rates were 84.3 ± 11.1%, 73.2 ± 10.6%, and 32.8 ± 10.4%, respectively. The four clones were born from two camels that received single embryos and two camels that received two embryos, all of which continued to three months of pregnancy. No live births were observed in the group that received 3-4 embryos. The unhatched and hatching blastocyst groups produced one and three calves, respectively, while no live births were observed from hatched blastocysts. We recommend transferring two cloned unhatched or hatching blastocysts per recipient to increase pregnancy rates and reduce pregnancy losses in dromedary camels.