Assessment of reproduction and growth performance of offspring derived from somatic cell cloned pigs

Abstract

Since cloned pig was successfully produced, a new opportunity for porcine breeding industry to conserve genetic resources has been opened. However, there has been no report to investigate whether both somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) pigs and their offspring have the characteristics of the donor breed. In this study, we compared the reproductive and growth performance of American Large White boars cloned by SCNT with the donor boar, and analyzed the test parameters, including semen quality, re-service rate, rate of parturition, and average daily gain. The results showed that these cloned boars and the donor boar had no significant differences in the tests (P > 0.05) and the growth performance of their offspring was similar to the naturally bred American Large White pigs. In summary, the reproductive and growth performance of cloned pigs are similar to the donor pig and within the normal range. This suggests that pigs cloned by SCNT have the potential to be used in reproduction and breeding.