Animal cloning for food: epigenetics, health, welfare and food safety aspects

Abstract

Cloning via somatic cell nucleus transfer (SCNT) is a potential way for using validated genomes in farm animal breeding and to save endangered breeds or species. Although this technique is relatively inefficient and costly, it is envisaged to use it as an assisted reproduction technique. Despite numerous problems observed in the perinatal period, after some time clones appear normal although they may have kept some epigenetic modifications. Meat and milk from cattle and meat from pig clones and their offspring are substantially equivalent to conventional animals with no observed toxicity or allergenicity. Due to limited data, monitoring of clones and their offspring is recommended to detect whether there are unexpected long-term effects of cloning.