First Cloned Transgenic Cow at Jilin University

Researchers from Jilin University in northeast China’s Jilin province declared that they had cloned the world’s first lysine transgenic cow recently, which can produce milk rich in lysine, an essential amino acid that the human body cannot synthesize.

This cloned cow, born on Aug 6 at the cow breeding base, Faculty of Agriculture of Jilin University, is in black-and-white color, weighing 31.5 kg when at birth, and is healthy and lively.

Capable of producing milk which contains a 20% higher amount of lysine than an ordinary cow, the newly-cloned cow is obtained by using molecular biology technique and somatic cell nuclear transfer technology. Its birth marks a major breakthrough in the international cloning technology and the dairy goods industry as well.

“After preliminary test, it is determined to carry lysine genes transferred. It’s the globally first cloned lysine transgenic cow. The aim of our project is to increase the amount of lysine contained in milk,” said Prof. Li Ziyi, Jilin Province Key Laboratory of Animal Embryo Engineering, Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine College, Jilin University and director of Jilin Province Research Center of Animal Biotechnology.

“Actually, there isn’t much difference between this cloned cow and an ordinary cow. It (the cloned cow) is simply carrying lysine genes transferred from the cow per se so that the amount of lysine contained in milk can be increased. It will cause no harm to the human body,” added Prof. Li.

Lysine is one of the eight essential amino acids for the human body, which can help balance human metabolism and promote human growth.

According to Prof. Li, it will take another five to ten years to cultivate a new type of the lysine transgenic cow, when the cost will be lowered to a level at which common agricultural workers can afford to raise it.

Source: CCTV News