Somatic cloning of dogs is considered difficult due to problems in estrus identification, complex oocyte maturation and poor quality of dog oocytes. Sinogene Co. has achieved success to overcome all three problems in Beagles and has established embryo transfer technology for the breeding of dogs cloned from somatic cell lines. In addition, Sinogene has used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing techniques to knock out the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, thus developing an atherosclerotic disease model dog. From somatic cells of this dog, a dog Longlong (“Dragon”) was cloned on May 28, weighing 200 g. Sinogene Co. will offer commercial dog cloning services worldwide by establishing a gene-editing development and research base and a bank for somatic cells and genes. Sinogene will also offer to pet owners to use the company’s biological sample repository to store genes and cells of their pets for future stem cell therapy.
CAS news release, June 5, 2017