Postnatal Growth and Behavioral Development of Mice Cloned from Adult Cumulus Cells

Since the first successful cloning of mammals from adult somatic cells, there has been no examination of the learning or behavior of cloned offspring. The possibility of adverse effects on animals produced through adult somatic cell cloning is high because many natural biological processes are bypas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology of reproduction 2000-07, Vol.63 (1), p.328-334
Main Authors: TAMASHIRO, K. L. K, WAKAYAMA, T, BLANCHARD, R. J, BLANCHARD, D. C, YANAGIMACHI, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Body Weight - genetics
Cell Nucleus - genetics
Cloning, Organism - methods
Female
Fertilization in Vitro
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Inbred Strains
Motor Activity
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Since the first successful cloning of mammals from adult somatic cells, there has been no examination of the learning or behavior of cloned offspring. The possibility of adverse effects on animals produced through adult somatic cell cloning is high because many natural biological processes are bypassed and DNA from adult cells, which presumably contain mutations, are used. In this study, we compared cloned mice produced by microinjection transfer of cumulus cell nuclei into enucleated oocytes, to control mice that were specifically generated to eliminate confounding factors that are unique to our cloning procedure. Postnatal weight gain of clones was significantly greater than that of controls. Preweaning development observations revealed that first appearance or performance of 3 out of 10 measures was delayed in cloned mice; however, results of subsequent tests of learning and memory, activity level, and motor skills were comparable for both groups. Together, these data suggest that nuclear transfer of adult somatic cell nuclei to produce cloned mice may delay the appearance of a few developmental milestones but it does not adversely affect the overall postnatal behavior of mice. In addition, this procedure may cause late onset of significantly increased body weight in cloned offspring, the cause or causes of which are being further examined.
ISSN:0006-3363
1529-7268
DOI:10.1095/biolreprod63.1.328