"We
collect these eggs from the ovaries of slaughtered animals. We
have to mature them in the lab for 24 hours before they reach
the stage where we can use them for the cloning process," Wani
said.
Reproductive cloning of animals uses a process called somatic
cell nuclear transfer.
DNA is removed from a camel egg cell and replaced with DNA from
a frozen body cell of a camel prized for some quality such as
speed or beauty. The egg then develops into an embryo with no
sperm needed.
Animal cloning is, however, time-consuming with low success
rates.
"From a hundred embryos that we transfer, we can have five to
ten pregnancies, and sometimes maybe three to six babies born,"
said Wani, originally a veterinarian who has a phD in animal
reproduction.
The Reproductive Biotechnology Centre in Dubai works to preserve
the cells of and reproduce elite racing camels, beauty contest
winners, milking camels and prized males, Wani said.
It also uses interspecies cloning technology to preserve
threatened species.
It has cloned critically endangered, double-humped wild Bactrian
camels using the eggs and surrogate mothers of single humped
camels, Wani said.
"In cloning we are not doing anything new. God has created all
the material. God has created the cells, we are only helping the
process," Wani said, adding it was one of a number of assisted
reproductive technology techniques.
Most of the centre's work preserving elite traits is done
through the more conventional multiple embryo transfer method.
A valued camel's ovary is stimulated to produce multiple eggs.
After fertilisation with prized sperm, multiple embryos can be
transferred to surrogate camels.
"This year for example we have 20 pregnancies from one good male
and one good female," Wani said.
(Reporting by Abir Al Ahmar; writing by Lisa Barrington; editing
by Mark Heinrich)
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