Chapter 19 - Cloning Pigs by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Abstract

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has expanded the utilization of pigs to various fields including biomedical research. However, the efficiency of SCNT is poor, and thus practical application of SCNT is limited. Various approaches have been attempted to increase the overall efficiency of SCNT. Improvements in in vitro culture of oocytes and embryos can assist in production of high quality pig embryos. A broad molecular approach, such as next generation deep sequencing, has shown that it can provide clues to understanding the physiology of embryos under in vitro culture and lead us to develop a novel culture method. Different reagents have been used to assist reprogramming of donor cells during SCNT and to correct some abnormally expressed genes in SCNT embryos. Still, the search for an ideal donor cell type for efficient reprogramming remains an unfinished task. These combined efforts provide a bright prospective for SCNT in pigs.