China cloned six highly productive goats

Chinese scientists have reported the first successful serial cloning of high-yielding dairy goats. Six individuals were obtained.

Chinese scientists reported the country’s first successful serial cloning of high-yielding dairy goats. The project was implemented by a research group Northwestern University of Agriculture and Forestry in the province Shaanxireports Xinhua.

As a result of the experiment, we obtained six cloned animals: four males and two females. Elite high-yielding goats of the Saanen breed were used as donor material. According to Chinese media, such animals are capable of producing more 2800 kilograms of milk per yearand also have a higher fat and protein content in milk.

A key element of the work was the selection of high-quality somatic cells and optimization of the entire cloning technological chain. This made it possible not only to obtain individual animals, but to achieve a more stable result suitable for serial use in animal husbandry.

Scientists believe that such technology can speed up the creation of productive livestock. In traditional breeding, it usually takes years to fix the desired traits, while cloning allows you to more quickly reproduce animals with already known valuable characteristics. As usual, nature did this slowly and patiently, until man decided that eight to ten years was too long to report on progress.

For China This development has not only scientific but also economic significance. Provinces Shaanxiwhere the university is located, is considered one of the key centers of Chinese dairy goat farming. According to China Dailyit accounts for about 40% of the country’s dairy goats and a significant part of goat milk processing.

The Chinese authorities associate the development of such technologies with the task of increasing the efficiency of livestock farming and expanding the food supply. At the same time, the massive use of cloning in agriculture will inevitably raise ethical questions: where is the line between accelerated selection and the transformation of living organisms into a production matrix?

So far we are talking about a specific scientific result – six cloned goats. But the very fact of serial cloning shows that biotechnology is entering deeper and deeper into the agricultural sector. And the agriculture of the future, apparently, will smell not only of hay and milk, but also of a laboratory.

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