The ecological adaptability of cloned sheep to free-grazing in the Tengger Desert of Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

Since the birth of the first cloned sheep, somatic cell nuclear transfer technology has been successfully used to clone a variety of mammals. Cloned livestock have no apparent health risks, and the quality and safety of the cloned animal products are similar to non-cloned animals. The social behavior and environmental adaptability of postnatal cloned animals, especially when used for grassland farm production purposes, is unknown. In the present study, the cloned Dorper sheep equipped with GPS location devices were free-grazed in a harsh natural environment similar to conditions commonly experienced by Mongolian sheep. The main findings of this research were as follows. (1) Under free-grazing conditions, the cloned sheep showed excellent climatic and ecological adaptability. In extreme temperature conditions ranging from -30 to 40°C, the cloned sheep maintained acceptable body condition and behaved as other sheep. (2) The cloned sheep quickly adapted from a herd feeding strategy to the harsh environment and quickly exhibited a grazing regimen as other free-grazing sheep. (3) The cloned sheep exhibited free-grazing patterns and social behavior as other sheep. (4) The cloned sheep in the harsh environment thrived and produced healthy lambs. Overall, the cloned Dorper sheep exhibited excellent ecological adaptation, which is an important consideration for breeding meat sheep by cloning. The Dorper sheep readily adapted to the free-grazing conditions on the Mongolian plateau grassland, which attests to their ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions.

Keywords

somatic cell nuclear transfer / free-grazing synchronization / Dorper sheep / cloned animal ecology

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Junlong Li and Inner Mongolia Sainuo Sheep Pasture Co. Ltd. for their technical assistance in sheep cloning, and the Bureau of Animal Husbandry of Alashan League for their assistance in the cloned sheep grazing experiment. We also thank Dr. Tom Bunch of the Department of Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University for his critical reading and editing of this manuscript. This study was supported by the Basic Research Program of China (2012CB22306) and the Integration and Application of Grassland Ecological Animal Husbandry Program of Inner Mongolia.

Xinxin Li, Huijuan Wang, Guanghua Su, Zhuying Wei, Chunling Bai, Wuni-Menghe, Yanhui Hou, Changqing Yu, Shorgan Bou and Guangpeng Li declare that they have no conflict of interest or financial conflicts to disclose. All applicable institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg