In 2000, a falling tree put an abrupt end to the Pyrenean ibex. For thousands of years, this subspecies of Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica) had lived in the mountains between France, Andorra and Spain. Then diseases and, above all, intensive hunting by humans drastically reduced the stocks.
In 1989, a dozen more mountain goats, also known as Bucardo, were registered, and a decade later the female “Celia” was the last representative of her species. In 2000, game wardens found the animal dead under a fallen tree. This meant that the Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) was extinct – at least for the time being.
Parallels to clone sheep “Dolly”
Because three years later – exactly 20 years ago – Spanish researchers resurrected the subspecies. The researchers had taken tissue samples from “Celia” before her death and frozen them and were thus able to clone the animal. The method had already been used in 1996 with the cloned sheep “Dolly”.
The team isolated the cell nuclei containing the animal’s genetic material from the frozen cells of “Celia”. These were introduced into emptied egg cells of domestic goats. As the team led by veterinarian Alberto Fernández-Arias reported in the journal Theriogenology, the surrogate animals were hybrids between ibexes and domestic goats.
In the course of dozens of experiments, seven animals became pregnant. But only one surrogate mother carried the clone: On July 30, 2003, the fawn was born by caesarean section. “To our knowledge, this is the first animal descended from an extinct subspecies,” the scientists wrote.
But the success was short-lived. The newborn Bucardo died within ten minutes of lung failure. The Pyrenean ibex went extinct a second time. Cloning, while complicated, is the only way to prevent species like the Bucardo from disappearing altogether, the researchers wrote.
Mammoth resurrection?
In fact, the experiment inspired scientists worldwide. They also thought about reviving already extinct species. The molecular biologist George Church from Harvard University is working on the resurrection of the mammoth.
Church wants to combine cells from the Asian elephant with mammoth genes obtained from tissue samples from the remains of the giant. According to Church, the DNA in those remains is not sufficient to create a mammoth clone, but could be inserted into the genome of modern-day pachyderms. The result would not be a mammoth copy, but likely a cold-resistant hairy elephant. The first hybrid calf should be born in 2027.
Such projects are also met with criticism. Many animal rights activists reject cloning in general, for example because numerous embryos die in the process and many clones that are born suffer from deformities or diseases. Clones for medical research are also being criticized. For example, in Germany, genetically modified pigs are being cloned that will one day serve as organ donors, but also as laboratory animals for the pharmaceutical industry.
Another motivation is at the forefront of camel cloning in Dubai, which creates duplicates of animals that produce particularly high milk yields or have been successful in races and beauty pageants – a practice also used in horseback riding. High-performance horses for show jumping or polo have been cloned for around 20 years. In 2003, an Italian research group succeeded in making the first genetic copy of a horse.
Importance of cloning for cattle breeding
Cloning has also long been of commercial importance in cattle breeding. In the USA, Japan, China and South Korea, many companies have specialized in cloning breeding bulls with high sperm production and cows that produce a lot of milk. There are also cloned pigs, goats and sheep.
In 2015, Chinese company Boyalife made headlines by announcing plans to set up a cloning factory in the port city of Tianjin. Up to a million cattle should be produced there. It is not known how far these plans have progressed: in addition to press reports on the plans, these can only be found as announcements on the Boyalife website.
The South Korean veterinarian Hwang Woo-suk created the clone dog “Snuppy” with a team and reported about it in 2005 in the journal “Nature”. The researcher has remained true to the cloning of dogs. His company offers dog cloning under the title “Not You But You”. The website not only talks about pets, but also about working dogs, such as sniffer dogs for the police service.
