South Korean scientists have cloned cats by manipulating a
fluorescent protein gene, a procedure which could help develop
treatments for human genetic diseases, officials said
Wednesday.
In a side-effect, the cloned cats glow in the dark when exposed to
ultraviolet beams.
A team of scientists led by Kong Il-keun, a cloning expert at
Gyeongsang National University, produced three cats possessing
altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes, the Ministry of Science
and Technology said.
"It marked the first time in the world that cats with RFP genes
have been cloned," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ability to produce cloned cats with the manipulated genes
is significant as it could be used for developing treatments for
genetic diseases and for reproducing model (cloned) animals
suffering from the same diseases as humans," it added.
The cats were born in January and February. One was stillborn
while two others grew to become adult Turkish Angoras, weighing 3.0
kilograms (6.6 pounds) and 3.5 kilograms.
"This technology can be applied to clone animals suffering from
the same diseases as humans," said the leading scientist Kong.
"It will also help develop stemcell treatments," he said, noting
that cats have some 250 kinds of genetic diseases that affect
humans, too.
The technology can also help clone endangered animals like
tigers, leopards and wildcats, Kong said.
South Korea's bio-engineering industry suffered a setback after
a much-touted achievement by cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk turned
out to have been faked.
The government banned Hwang from research using human eggs after
his claims that he created the first human stem cells through
cloning were ruled last year to be bogus.
Hwang is standing trial on charges of fraud and
embezzlement.
(China Daily December 13, 2007)
