Chinesescientists have cloned two monkeys using a technique that could see
hundreds of identical primates and possibly identical humans being
created.
Using the process that created Dolly the
Sheep, transferred DNA, researchers say it could produce genetically
uniform monkeys for use in research into human diseases. But others will
view it as a major step towards the creation of tailor-made humans.
Long-tailed macaques Zhong Zhong and Hua
Hua were born at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of
Neuroscience in Shanghai using DNA from foetal connective tissue cells.
After the DNA was transferred to donated
eggs, genetic reprogramming was used to switch on or off genes that
would otherwise have suppressed embryo development.
Research team leader Dr Qiang Sun said:
“We tried several different methods, but only one worked. There was much
failure before we found a way to successfully clone a monkey. “You can
produce cloned monkeys with the same genetic background except the gene
you manipulated.
“This will generate real models not just
for genetically based brain diseases, but also cancer, immune or
metabolic disorders and allow us to test the efficacy of the drugs for
these conditions before clinical use.”
Dolly the Sheep was cloned by scientists
in Edinburgh 20 years ago using the single cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)
technique. It was the first time scientists had managed to clone a
mammal from an adult cell.
Although a primate has been cloned
before, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua are the first using SCNT, which can
theoretically produce an indefinite number of clones from a single
donor. However, Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, from The Francis Crick
Institute in London, said he did not believe it increased the chances of
cloned humans.
“The work in this paper is not a stepping-stone to
establishing methods for obtaining live-born human clones,” he said.
“This clearly remains a very foolish thing to attempt. It would be far
too inefficient, far too unsafe, and it is also pointless. Clones may be
genetically identical, but we are far from only being a product of our
genes.”