|
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
| Press Release |
|
September
20 , 2000 |
|
The Faculté
de médecine vétérinaire de l’Université
de Montréal is proud to announce the birth of a cloned calf
derived from the famous bull Hanoverhill Starbuck, which belonged
to the Centre d’insémination artificielle du Québec
(CIAQ). The cells utilised were taken before the death of Starbuck,
two years ago. This is the first time that an adult bull was cloned
in this manner. The cloning procedure was performed by the research
team of Dr Lawrence C. Smith, Associate Professor and Researcher
at the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire
de l’Université de Montréal, and the embryo transfers
by the team of L’Alliance Boviteq lead by Dr Daniel Bousquet
of L’Alliance Boviteq inc. The calf was born at the Veterinary
teaching hospital (VTH) of the Faculté de médecine
vétérinaire. It weighed 54,2 kg at birth (120 pounds).
The research that led to the birth of Starbuck II is, therefore,
fruit of a close collaboration between the teams of the Centre de
recherche en reproduction animale (CRRA) of the Faculté de
médecine vétérinaire de l’Université
de Montréal, of the Centre d’insémination artificielle
du Québec (CIAQ) and of L’Alliance Boviteq. The clinical
crew present during birth of Starbuck II noticed that the young
calf was in good health from its very first movements. Dr André
Desrochers said: “After its birth by cesarean section, Starbuck
II started breathing immediately on his own. No medical intervention
was necessary apart from the usual care given to every newborn.
Approximately 10 minutes after birth, Starbuck II vigorously tried
to stand-up, which indicates an excellent health status”. As
a result of discussions with the clinical support team of the Veterinary
teaching hospital of the Faculté and CIAQ, the announcement
of the birth of Starbuck II was postponed until today to ensure
the optimum health care and environmental conditions for the cloned
calf. Dr Lawrence
C. Smith and Dr Daniel Bousquet directed the scientific investigations
that led to the birth of Starbuck II. Dr Smith who cloned Starbuck,
is a researcher at the Centre de recherche en reproduction animale
(CRRA) and Associate Professor of the Faculté de médecine
vétérinaire de l’Université de Montréal
at Saint-Hyacinthe. Dr Smith introduced the technology of nuclear
transfer at the Roslin Institute, during his Ph.D. with Dr Wilmut,
who later cloned Dolly. Dr Bousquet is the Research and Development
Coordinator and Assistant General Manager of L’Alliance Boviteq
inc. also at Saint-Hyacinthe. “Starbuck
II is derived from frozen fibroblast cells, recovered one month
before the death of Starbuck. This is the first Canadian adult clone
of its kind. Moreover, “Starbuck II is the first cloned calf
worldwide to be derived from non serum-starved fibroblasts originating
from an adult animal” said Dr Smith. Cloned embryos were produced
by the method of oocyte reconstruction in which somatic nuclei are
introduced by fusion into previously enucleated ovocytes. In this case,
68 reconstructed oocytes were needed to obtain a viable cloned calf.
This represents fewer attempts than that required to produce Dolly,
which was 277 similar attempts. The rate of fusion obtained was
80%, of which 28% developed into blastocyst-stage embryos after
an 8-day culture period in vitro. The research group transferred
the cloned embryos to surrogate mothers belonging to L'Alliance
Boviteq inc, a company specialized in applied research. It should also
be noted that this was not the only technical achievement. In fact,
to reduce the chances of obtaining gestational and neonatal abnormalities,
a novel medium containing no serum was used for the in vitro culture
of the embryos to the blastocyst stage. The good health of Starbuck
II indicates that the culture system had a beneficial effect. Dr Raymond S.
Roy, Dean of the Faculté reacted : “This scientific
accomplishment highlights the contribution of the researchers in
Saint-Hyacinthe to economic development. All dairy producers in
the world acknowledge the importance of the cloning of Starbuck”. Since its creation
in 1972, the role of the Centre de recherche en reproduction animale
(CRRA) of the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire
de l’Université de Montréal, has been to carry
out research in the area of reproduction of domestic animals. It
is now known as one of the largest research centers of its kind
in Canada. The establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in domestic
animals is the main topic of research at the CRRA. There are two
principal areas of research, embryo survival and ovarian function,
which are studied at the level of the whole animals and at the cellular
and molecular levels. In this regard, the CRRA conducts important
studies on in vitro fertilization and Dr Smith is at the forefront
of research on animal cloning in cattle. Dr Bruce D. Murphy is the
director of the CRRA. In recent years,
L’Alliance Boviteq inc. has been very active in the research
and development as well as in the application of novel techniques
in animal reproduction. Their competence in this field is confirmed
by their success in applying the techniques of embryo sexing, embryo
freezing and the production of embryos in vitro. Their success in
cloning is another indication of the resources and potential they
have to offer to animal breeding programs for the Canadian dairy
industry. A video presentation explaining the steps in the cloning procedure, the first steps after the birth of Starbuck II, a photo and a complete press documentation are available at the address : www.medvet.umontreal.ca |
|
-30- |
|
Information:
Members of
the CHUV medical team Members of
the research team of L’Alliance Boviteq inc. Members of
the technological services team at L’Alliance Boviteq inc.
Research in the releases from 1998, 1999 et 2000
|
Contact us
Last
update : September 20, 2000