Dogs cloned from fetal fibroblasts by nuclear transfer

Fetal fibroblasts have been considered as the prime candidate donor cells for the canine reproductive cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in regard to the future production of transgenic dogs, mainly due to their higher developmental competence and handling advantage in gene targeting. In this study, the cloning efficiency with canine fetal fibroblasts as donor cells was determined. A total of 50 presumptive cloned embryos were reconstructed, activated and transferred into the oviducts of naturally synchronous recipient bitches. While the fusion rate (76.9%) was similar to those of our earlier studies with adult fibroblasts as donor cells (73.9–77.1%), a high cloning efficiency (4.0%; 2 births/50 embryos transferred) was found compared to the previous success rate with adult fibroblasts (0.2–1.8%). The cloned beagles were healthy and genotypically identical to the donor fibroblast cells. This study shows that a fetal fibroblast cell would be an excellent donor for future production of transgenic dogs via gene targeting in this cell followed cloning using SCNT technology.