Texas A&M researchers have now cloned cattle, goats and pigs, and are working to clone dogs, cats and horses. The first of five litters of piglets was born on August 12.

From the first and second litters, nine piglets are healthy and growing quickly," said Dr. Jorge Piedrahita who holds a joint appointment with the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine and is the lead investigator on the project.

The swine cloning project was a collaborative effort involving scientists from the Center for Animal Biotechnology and Genomics (CABG). The CABG includes researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, The Health Sciences Center, and the George Bush School of Public Policy.

Our research in cloning swine will help increase cloning efficiency and support the development of genetically modified cloned swine for use in medicine and agriculture," added Piedrahita.

A clone Boer goat named Second Addition was born on March 29. The donor was an eight year old Boer Champion doe.

In November 2000, a team of researchers led by Mark Westhusin at the College of Veterinary Medicine cloned what was believed to be the first animal cloned for disease resistance. The 10 month old Angus calf, named 86 Squared, was cloned using cells that were frozen for a record 15 years.

In 1999, scientists at the College of Veterinary Medicine became the first to clone a calf from an adult steer, which was also the oldest animal ever cloned - a 21 year old Brahman name Chance. Chance's offspring, named Second Chance, displays identical markings as his father and has identical DNA.

The knowledge we gain from cloning these animals could greatly affect several areas of science and medicine," said H. Richard Adams, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. "That is what makes the CABG's approach of developing multi disciplinary collaborative projects so powerful."

With each successful cloned species, we learn more about cloning procedures and how to make cloning more effective. The potential benefits to the livestock industry and medical science could be immense," said Dr. James Womack, director of the CABG.

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