Comparison of the efficiency of Banna miniature inbred pig somatic cell nuclear transfer among different donor cells

PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e57728. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057728. Epub 2013 Feb 28.

Abstract

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is an important method of breeding quality varieties, expanding groups, and preserving endangered species. However, the viability of SCNT embryos is poor, and the cloned rate of animal production is low in pig. This study aims to investigate the gene function and establish a disease model of Banna miniature inbred pig. SCNT with donor cells derived from fetal, newborn, and adult fibroblasts was performed, and the cloning efficiencies among the donor cells were compared. The results showed that the cleavage and blastocyst formation rates did not significantly differ between the reconstructed embryos derived from the fetal (74.3% and 27.4%) and newborn (76.4% and 21.8%) fibroblasts of the Banna miniature inbred pig (P>0.05). However, both fetal and newborn fibroblast groups showed significantly higher rates than the adult fibroblast group (61.9% and 13.0%; P<0.05). The pregnancy rates of the recipients in the fetal and newborn fibroblast groups (60% and 80%, respectively) were higher than those in the adult fibroblast group. Eight, three, and one cloned piglet were obtained from reconstructed embryos of the fetal, newborn, and adult fibroblasts, respectively. Microsatellite analyses results indicated that the genotypes of all cloning piglets were identical to their donor cells and that the genetic homozygosity of the Banna miniature inbred pig was higher than those of the recipients. Therefore, the offspring was successfully cloned using the fetal, newborn, and adult fibroblasts of Banna miniature inbred pig as donor cells.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Cloning, Organism
  • DNA / genetics
  • Embryo Implantation
  • Embryonic Development
  • Female
  • Fetus / cytology
  • Fibroblasts / cytology
  • Inbreeding*
  • Male
  • Nuclear Transfer Techniques*
  • Pregnancy
  • Swine
  • Swine, Miniature / embryology
  • Swine, Miniature / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Major Research Plan from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2011CB944200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.31060308) and Yunnan Provincial Program for Introducing High-level Scientists (Grant No. 2011HA011). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.