Pre-weaning performance and health of pigs born to cloned (fetal cell derived) swine versus non-cloned swine

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the pre-weaning performance of pigs derived from cloned versus non-cloned parents. Five cloned gilts and one cloned boar were used to produce five litters of pigs. One of five cloned females and the cloned boar were derived from two genetically unmanipulated fetal fibroblast cell lines. The remaining female clones were derived from a fetal fibroblast cell line in which random insertion of a α-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene targeting construct had occurred. Fetal cell lines had similar genetic backgrounds and were derived from three different fetuses in three different litters. Five litters of pigs were also generated from matings between two non-cloned boars and five non-cloned gilts. The mean gestation length, mean litter size, mean birth and weaning weights for male and female pigs were similar for litters derived from cloned parents versus non-cloned parents. The proportions of pigs born live and pigs that survived to weaning were also similar for pigs born to cloned as compared to non-cloned parents. In summary, matings between cloned swine derived from fetal fibroblast cell lines yielded litters of pigs that were similar in the number born, piglet birth weight and perinatal and pre-weaning mortality to litters produced by non-cloned swine.