About me: In August of my year, I received higher education at birth and volunteered for embryo engineering, somatic cell cloning, etc. Live in a large villa of nongda.
About You: English Longhair, Silver Gradient. Green eyeballs, pure London accent preferred. Disease-free and moss-free. Together, we can study topics related to the breeding of cloned cats. Contributions to science are welcome.
This is a special "marriage notice".
On August 28, Red Star News reporters learned from the team of Dr. Zhao Minghui of the College of Life Sciences of Qingdao Agricultural University that the British long-haired cat somatic cloned offspring bred by the team on December 24, 2020, is now 8 months old and has entered the estrus period.
The first cloned cat "Ping An" in domestic universities is 8 months old
In order to further the breeding research of cloned cats, the research team is currently soliciting breeding targets for "Ping An".
8 months old!
The first cloned cat in a domestic university entered the estrus period
According to a previous report by Red Star News ("Dialogue with the Host of the First Cloned Cat Project in Domestic Universities: Cloned Animals Without Ontological Memory will be used in many ways in the future"), researchers isolated and cultured fibroblasts from the skin tissue of an adult female forest cat, and used the Eggs of Chinese Pastoral Cats as nucleus receptors to produce multiple somatic cloned embryos through nucleus replacement and artificial activation.
After transferring the cloned embryos to the recipient female cat, after 62 days of incubation, the scientific team successfully obtained a forest cat somatic cell clone offspring. The cloned cat was born on December 24, 2020, weighs 75 grams, and researchers named it "Ping An.".
Cub "Peace"
On August 28, 2021, Zhao Minghui, the host of the cloned cat project and an associate professor at the College of Life Sciences of Qingdao Agricultural University, told Red Star News that "Ping An" is now 8 months old and has entered a period of estrus. In order to further research on the breeding of cloned cats, breeding targets are currently being solicited for "Ping An".
However, the body was previously judged to be a forest cat through photos, and later after understanding, it was found that the body was actually a British long-haired cat. In order to avoid hybridization affecting experimental observations, this breed also requires an English longhair cat.
"'Ping An' has not been abnormal in the past few months, and there is no difference from a normal mating and breeding domestic cat. It is now in a normal estrus period, and if the cloned animal can breed offspring, it can prove to be normal, so I want to find a cat to breed with it and go through such a process. Zhao Minghui said that the cloned cat "Ping An" is currently developing normally in various indicators such as length and weight.
Clone the cat "Peace" 100 days photo
Katsutaka Cat Body
However, the team has not yet found a suitable object. Zhao Minghui said that one of the biggest problems they encounter now is that the surrounding British long-haired cats are relatively rare, so he wants to expand the search range through the WeChat circle of friends.
"English longhair cat, silver gradient." Green eyeballs, pure London accent preferred. Disease-free and moss-free. Regarding the requirements for breeding cats in the courtship statement, Zhao Minghui said, "The criterion I listed is actually a simple description of the British longhair cat. Actually, we still have a little request. If there is a suitable cat, we also have to test it, and there can be no genetic diseases and infectious diseases, which is not good for 'peace' and future generations. ”
Shortly after birth, the cloned cat "Ping An" and the surrogate female cat
"There will be no further research [on the offspring of cloned cats], the offspring are as long as they are healthy, and we don't intend to experiment with these cats." Regarding 'peace', the assessment is basically over, and the last indicator is its lifespan. But the indicator of life expectancy takes more than ten years, and the short-term indicators have basically been evaluated. Zhao Minghui said.
There is a new breakthrough!
The team successfully obtained cat gene-edited offspring
Zhao Minghui mainly conducts research on the mechanism of animal somatic cell cloning and somatic reprogramming, and independently cloned the first elite working dog in 2016, breaking through the 11-year-long technology monopoly in the field, and established an in vitro culture system for early embryos of canines in 2018.
According to Red Star News, "Ping An" is a result of Dr. Zhao Minghui's team's cat cloning research project and is also part of commercial cloning. As a cloned cat without any gene editing, it will not be further utilized, but will return to its owner as a domestic cat. The team will also track its growth, development and breeding over time.
This time, he also revealed to Red Star News that the team has recently successfully obtained cat gene editing offspring through research. News about this research result has been published on the official website of Qingdao Agricultural University, and it is reported that this is the first report on gene editing in felines in China.
Screenshot of relevant reports on the official website of Qingdao Agricultural University (partial)
Dr. Zhao Minghui's team used cats as gene editing objects and used the early embryo collection technology established in the early stage to accurately obtain cat fertilized eggs in a special period. The study used Crispr-Cas9 as a gene-editing tool to inject sgRNA and Cas9 proteins into a fertilized egg and then transplant them back into the body for development. The results of gene sequencing showed that the CRX gene of one of the 8 offspring produced was successfully modified. The birth of this technology will provide important technical means and theoretical basis for the production and preparation of large animal models of human diseases, the study of disease pathogenesis, and the promotion of drug development.
In the field of laboratory animals, although cats belong to large animals, their bodies are small, the cost of raising is low, the retina structure is similar to that of humans, and the nervous system is highly developed, which is very suitable as a model animal for ophthalmic diseases. The research team selected the CRX gene as the first knockout target gene, which is crucial for the development of cone cells and can provide a powerful research tool for the pathogenesis of diseases such as retinal degeneration.
Red Star News reporter Ren Jiangbo, intern Zheng Xinyi, provided a picture by the interviewee
Edited by Li Binbin
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