Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on May 26, 2023
Dubai camel cloning caters to races, beauty pageants
Animal cloning is, however, time-consuming with low success rates.
A surrogate mother with her cloned baby camel is pictured at the farm of the Reproductive Biotechnology Centre in Dubai. (REUTERS/Rula Rouhana)
Having led the world’s first cloning of camels in 2009, Nisar Wani is now replicating a few dozen a year at a Dubai lab – a big business in the Gulf region where camels are cherished and can earn huge sums in beauty and racing contests.
“We collect these eggs from the ovaries of slaughtered animals. We have to mature them in the lab for 24 hours before they reach the stage where we can use them for the cloning process,” Wani said.
Reproductive cloning of animals uses a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer.
DNA is removed from a camel egg cell and replaced with DNA from a frozen body cell of a camel prized for some quality such as speed or beauty. The egg then develops into an embryo with no sperm needed.
Dr. Nizar Ahmad Wani, kisses a surrogate camel at the farm of the Reproductive Biotechnology Centre, which researches and creates novel cloning techniques to reproduce camels, in Dubai. (REUTERS/Rula Rouhana)
Animal cloning is, however, time-consuming with low success rates.
“From a hundred embryos that we transfer, we can have five to ten pregnancies, and sometimes maybe three to six babies born,” said Wani, originally a veterinarian who has a phD in animal reproduction.
The Reproductive Biotechnology Centre in Dubai works to preserve the cells of and reproduce elite racing camels, beauty contest winners, milking camels and prized males, Wani said.
Story continues below this ad
It also uses interspecies cloning technology to preserve threatened species.
It has cloned critically endangered, double-humped wild Bactrian camels using the eggs and surrogate mothers of single humped camels, Wani said.
Matured eggs collected from a dead camel being prepared for cloning are seen on a screen in the lab of the Reproductive Biotechnology Centre. (REUTERS/Rula Rouhana)
“In cloning we are not doing anything new. God has created all the material. God has created the cells, we are only helping the process,” Wani said, adding it was one of a number of assisted reproductive technology techniques.
Most of the centre’s work preserving elite traits is done through the more conventional multiple embryo transfer method.
Story continues below this ad
A valued camel’s ovary is stimulated to produce multiple eggs. After fertilisation with prized sperm, multiple embryos can be transferred to surrogate camels.
“This year for example we have 20 pregnancies from one good male and one good female,” Wani said.
📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Advertisement
Live Blog