Patent ID: 6548741
Filing Date: 2003-04-15
Classification: A61K,C12N

Abstract:
An improvement in the nuclear transfer method for cloning a pig, in which a pig oocyte is harvested from a donor animal and enucleated, the nucleus of a pig somatic cell is transferred into the enucleated oocyte to produce a combined cell, the combined cell is activated to produce an embryo, and the embryo is developed in a recipient animal of the same species to produce the cloned pig;wherein the improvement comprises: maturing the harvested oocyte by in vitro culture before enucleation and transfer of the pig somatic cell nucleus into the enucleated oocyte, and activating the combined cell, wherein the time from beginning maturation to activation is about 42-46 hours; thereby producing an embryo with an improved probability of developing into a cloned pig in the recipient animal.