President Droupadi Murmu on Monday visited the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, Haryana where she met ‘Ganga’, India’s first cloned Gir cow. Ganga was born in this facility on March 16.
To perform the cloning, scientists first obtained eggs from live cows. Eggs were extracted from cow ovaries using ultrasound-guided needles. The eggs were then matured in a controlled laboratory environment for 24 hours in cloning
They then collected somatic cells from elite cows. Somatic cells are any cells in the body that do not reproduce, such as skin or muscle cells. These cells provided the genetic material for the cloning process. The researchers transplanted the nucleus of a somatic cell into an enucleated egg cell from which the genetic material had been removed.
The embryos are then cultured in vitro (usually in a test tube) for several days Cloning until they reach the blastocyst stage. At this stage, there is a ball of cells that has divided several times and is ready to implant in the uterus.
Finally, the blastocysts were implanted into surrogate cows, which carried the embryos to term and gave birth to the cloned Gir cub.
What is cloning technology?
Cloning technology is the process of creating genetically identical copies of organisms or cells. This can be achieved using a variety of methods, including somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and artificial embryo doubling.
In SCNT, the nucleus of a somatic cell (any cell in the body that is not a sperm or egg cell) is removed and placed inside an egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed. The resulting embryo is then implanted into a surrogate mother and allowed to develop into a clone of the original organism.
Artificial embryo duplication involves splitting an early-stage embryo into two or more parts, each of which can then develop into a separate clone.
Cloning technology has been used to create cloned animals such as Dolly the sheep and to produce stem cells for medical research. It is a controversial topic with ethical, social and scientific implications.
What is the benefit of cloning cattle?
1. Animal cloning has the potential to aid rapid reproduction of elite animals as well as the protection of endangered breeds.
2. It aims to increase the number of indigenous breeds in the country. NDRI-Karnal in collaboration with Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB), Dehradun has started work on cloning indigenous cows like Gir, Sahiwal and Red Shindi in 2021.
3. With more quality cattle, India will be able to increase its milk production capacity. In particular, scientists claim that cloned and normal cattle have the same milk production capacity.
4. Maiden cows, a native breed from Gujarat, are popular among dairy farmers for their docile nature, good milk production, stress tolerance and resistance to several tropical diseases.
Gir cattle were also exported to Brazil, the United States, Mexico and Venezuela.
5. Developed domestic technology will herald new developments in the Indian dairy industry.
Written by: Vaishali verma
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