Scientists Succeed in Cloning a Cat

In a forecast of what may turn out to be a popular use of cloning, scientists at Texas A&M University (College Station, USA) have successfully cloned a cat. The research was published in the February 21, 2002, issue of Nature.

The cloned kitten, called cc ("carbon copy”), is about two months old and appears to be healthy. To clone the cat, the researchers took cells from adult female cats and placed them into cat eggs after removing the DNA in the eggs. The resulting 87 embryos were implanted in surrogate mothers. One surrogate, called Allie, produced cc. Although genetically identical, cc does not look like her mother. The researchers say this is because coat color in cats is only partly genetically determined. Initially, the research team had used cells from a male cat, but these failed to work.

The cloning was supported by Genetic Savings and Clone (also in College Station, TX), a commercial enterprise formed to offer cloning to dog and cat owners, although dogs have been found more difficult to clone than cats. Some experts believe that commercial reproduction of pets will be the first large-scale use of cloning. However, many people continue to voice opposition to cloning for reproduction. One such objection, following the announcement of cc's cloning, came in a statement from the Humane Society of the United States, which said that cloning pets serves no commercial purpose and contributes to the overpopulation of pets. In spite of opposition, the challenges of cloning are likely to continue to intrigue some scientists.




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