Northeast China pigs cloned from somatic cells

The Northeast China Agricultural University (NCAU), the Harbin Municipal Science & Technical Bureau and their cooperative unit announced their successful cloning of local pigs with the use of somatic cells last Saturday. Three cloned baby pigs have been doing well and normally since their birth on October 12.

Dr. Liu Zhonghua, leader of the project who comes from the Life Science College of the NCAU, acknowledged that the three cloned baby pigs, unlike pigs cloned in the past, had taken somatic cells from a three-day old piglet as donor cells.

The Northeast China local pigs, noted for being reproductive and adaptable with a good meat quality, are a leading fine breed under the state protection,

By People's Daily Online