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Cheetah set for comeback with cloning

More than five decades after it became extinct from Indian woods, the cheetah is set to make a comeback, thanks to the recently deviced cloning techniques.

Scientists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology are set to clone the sleek and speckled big cat using advanced biological tools and technology.

A cheetah, proposed to be imported from Iran, which has its variety closest to the Indian genre, would be used as the specimen for the venture, CCMB director Lalji Singh said.

''Our study team will undertake the challenging experiment once the specimen animal reached. We have written to the Union Government on this,'' he said.

A state-of-the-art Rs 50 million centre - the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (Lacones) -- has been set up adjacent to the nearby Nehru Zoological Park.

Lacones will also be utilised for biotechnological intervention for the conservation of endangered species like lions, tigers and leopards.

Singh, who is a pioneer in the country's successful endeavour on developing DNG fingerprinting probes for various uses, said the CCMB scientists would take out the genetic material from the live cells of the Iranian cheetah and infuse it into the eggs of a leopard. The mixed embryo would then be inserted into the receptive womb of a leopard, which would act as the surrogate mother.

CCMB deputy director S Shivaji, who is a senior member of the study team, expressed confidence that it may not be long that the Indian cheetah was resurrected.

''The proposed cloning is experimentally feasible with a fair degree of success rate,'' he said, adding that the CCMB scientists were developing technologies like embryo manipulation.

It was only recently that scientists in the United States and elsewhere cloned endangered species like the Indian bison using a domestic cow, Shivaji recalled.

He said Lacones would look into the conservation of creatures from vultures to the nocturnal mouse-deer. The lab was conceived taking into consideration the national importance of the preservation of the country's genetic diversity.

The lab's objective, among other things, was to monitor the genetic variation by modern techniques like DNA fingerprinting to establish and identify family lineages which would contribute positively towards planned in-house breeding strategies and probably wildlife parks.

Lacones aimed to achieve conservation and propagation of wild animals based on the conventional approach of planned breeding and on modern approaches, including assisted reproductive technologies, encompassing cloning as an ultimate strategy.

''In fact, Lacones with its wide spectrum of objectives is the first of its kind in the world. Unlike the Chinese lab specialised for the conservation of the giant panda and some zoos in the US which have developed facilities for insemination of the big cat, Lacones will cater to the conservation of the tiger, cheetah, leopard, ungulates, non-human primates, birds and any endangered animal of the country''.

Shivaji said CCMB scientists had standardised many protocols for assisted reproduction like semen collection by electro-ejaculation, semen cryo-preservation, semen profile evaluation, in-vitro fertilisation and radio-immunoassay of steroids.

''We hope to achieve pregnancy by intra-uterine insemination and embryo transfer. It will help overcome difficulties due to failure of normal reproductive performance in wild animals''.

Shivaji said from the data on the spermatology of several captive tigers, lions and leopards, it could be concluded that a good majority of animals were normal and could be used for breeding, since they did not exhibit adverse effects of inbreeding depression like low sperm count, low percentage of sperm motility and increase in percentage of abnormal sperm.

''In fact, a good majority of animals exhibit excellent semen parameters. The best among them can be identified for breeding. Our scientists have already developed a semen cryobank of tigers, lions and leopards and hope to create egg, embryo and cell banks for future use,'' the expert pointed out.

Indian scientists had collected semen from lions, tigers and panthers by electro-ejaculation, using rectal probes which stimulates the prostrate, he added.

UNI

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