Cloned pigs generated from cultured skin fibroblasts derived from a H-transferase transgenic boar.

Cloned pigs were produced from cultured skin fibroblasts derived from a H-transferase transgenic boar. One 90 day fetus and two healthy piglets resulted from nuclear transfer by fusion of cultured fibroblasts with enucleated oocytes. The cells used in these studies were subjected to an extensive culture time, freezing and thawing, and clonal expansion from single cells prior to nuclear transfer. PCR and FACS analysis determined that the cloned offspring contained and expressed the H-transferase transgene. Microsatellite analysis confirmed that the clones were genetically identical to the boar. The cell culture and nuclear transfer procedures described here will be useful for applications requiring multiple genetic manipulations in the same animal. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.