Scientists in China have announced that they have cloned the first healthy rhesus monkey (macaca mulatta). The Rhesus monkey named, Retro is the second species of primate that scientists have been able to clone successfully.
This was done by tweaking the somatic cell nuclear transfer method which was initially used to create Dolly the Sheep. Experts affirm that such clones can become test subjects for treatment to cure Alzheimer’s disease as well as cancer.
The study on the process of cloning the species was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.
The same group of researchers announced in 2018 that they had made two identical cloned cynomolgus monkeys (a type of macaque), which are still alive today.
“We have achieve the first live and healthy cloned rhesus monkey, which is a major step forward. It has indeed turned impossible to possible, although the efficiency is very low as compared to normal fertilized embryos”, stated Lu, an investigator at the state key laboratory of molecular developmental biology and institute of genetics and developmental biology at the Chinese academy of sciences.
The first mammal, Dolly the Sheep was created in the year 1996 using a technique called Somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT where the scientists essentially reconstruct an unfertilized egg by fusing a somatic cell nucleus( which is not from a sperm or egg) rather, from an egg in which the nucleus has been removed.
Since then, scientists have tried cloning various mammals, such as cows, horses and dogs. However, the success rate has been limited, with only a small fraction of embryos developing into viable offspring when implanted in surrogate animals.
Researchers suggest that being able to successfully clone monkeys might help accelerate biomedical research given that there are limitations on what scientists can learn from lab mice. Research on non-human primates which are closer to humans, has been significant to lifesaving medical advances, including the creation of vaccines against COVID-19, according to a report by a panel of the National academies of sciences, engineering and medicine.
Follow us
