| Featured Article - July
2006
In The Shadow of Equus Idaho Gem On The Run |
||
| Three
years ago, on May 4, 2003, a little mule foal was born at the
University of Idaho that, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have
caused much of a stir. But this time it sent shock waves around the
world. “Idaho Gem” was the first clone worldwide of any animal in the
equine family. His birth marked several milestones. He was the first clone of a hybrid breed — mules — which normally are sterile except in extremely rare cases, and his successful delivery validated the whole biotechnology approach to bringing him to term. That year Gem was followed by his two identical brothers, Idaho Star and Utah Pioneer. The three mule clones were produced by a team led by Dr. Gordon Woods, the university’s equine reproduction laboratory director; Dirk Vanderwall, veterinary scientist; Dr. Ken White, animal scientist; and Dr. David F. Tester, veterinarian. This year Gem and his brother Idaho Star achieved another milestone. On June 3 and 4, 2006 they competed for the $8,500 purse at the 20th annual Winnemucca Mule Races, Show & Draft Horse Challenge in Nevada (the first race of the American Mule Racing Association’s triple crown for three-year-olds). Racing against naturally bred mules, they were the first cloned animals to take part in an athletic competition. They each won their heats and placed third and seventh respectively in the finals of their class. “I think both animals, especially Idaho Gem, showed they have a lot of upside,” Don Jacklin told the Associated Press and reported by BBC News. Mr. Jacklin helped to finance the cloning project. “They both proved they could compete.” The cloning research project, known as “Project Idaho,” had its beginnings at the University of Idaho in 1998, when research professors Gordon Woods and Dirk Vanderwall teamed up to develop the technology of equine cloning. The success of their research work was honoured at the Idaho Horse Council’s 20th annual exposition, April 21 to 23, 2006 where they were feted as honourary “Legends.” The cloning project focused not only on successful techniques of horse reproduction through artificial means, but also its applications on human health, the research of which is still ongoing. |
Prof.
Woods focused on the difference between humans’ and horses’
vulnerability to some cancers, and age-onset diseases such as diabetes
and related hypertension. It was significant to him that no stallion
has ever been diagnosed with prostate cancer, while one in six men will
be. That curiosity led him to compare the physiology of men and horses,
which led him to propose that calcium regulation within cells was
dramatically different between the equine species and humankind. He
continues to focus on the horse as a research model to improve human
health. Cloning is a huge challenge and the loss of more than 80 percent of embryos early in pregnancy is apparently consistent in the overall science of animal cloning. Said Prof. Vanderwall, “We see some similarities in equine cloning, but we are not seeing the problems at birth or shortly after birth that have been reported in cloned sheep and cattle.” Idaho’s cloned mules represent a 2.7 percent foaling success rate. In 2005 a Texas university team reported a 0.7 (seven-tenths) percent foaling success rate with cloned horse embryos. Most cloned embryos were lost during the earliest phase of pregnancy. Symptoms signalling impending loss included lack of a heartbeat, failing membranes, change in the ultrasonic echo, and the physical size of the embryo. Despite the enormous difficulties, cloning has enormous potential as a preserver of bloodlines and in the science of conservation. The obvious immediate gain is the preservation of genetics for species at risk, such as the threatened Przewalski’s horse of the Mongolian plains. In horse breeding, cloning can recover the genetic heritage of geldings rendered unable to breed following castration. The science of it all, though, was likely lost on Idaho Gem and Idaho Star as they loped home to the cheers of mule lovers everywhere. These rare equines survived and thrived against tremendous odds. While they triumphantly crossed the finish line at the Winnemucca Mule Races, for others of their cloned kind the race to beat the odds of failure is still far from over. Read Margaret Evans' column "In The Shadow Of Equus" each month in Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal
|
|