Live rabbits were generated through nuclear transfer using adult cells as nuclear donors. We
showed that, in addition to adult cell nuclei, cultured fetal rabbit fibroblasts could support fullterm
embryonic development following nuclear transfer to enucleated oocytes. Following
nuclear transfer, 24.4% (21/86) of resulting embryos developed to the blastocyst stage, and 289
embryos were transferred to oviducts of 11 recipient mothers, resulting in 6 pregnancies. Three
mothers carried the pregnancy to term, and three newborn rabbits were subsequently
delivered by caesarian, one of which survived for more than 4 months. DNA analyses confirmed
that all 3 rabbits were genetically identical to fetal donor cells. This study demonstrated that
rabbits could be cloned from fetal fibroblasts, although at a lower frequency than when using
adult somatic cells as nuclear donors.
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