China's first transgenic cloned cow gives birth to healthy offspring

Niu Niu, a transgenic cloned cow with fatty fat connexin gene, has successfully produced offspring in August. This means that the application of somatic cell transgenic cloning technology has made a key step forward in cultivating a new variety of beef cattle. Chinese consumers are expected to enjoy high quality domestic marbled beef in the near future.

According to Ni Hemin, a professor of Beijing Agricultural College, his team carried out artificial insemination to Niu Niu on Nov. 2, 2014. Niu Niu gave birth to a second generation of "transgenic cow" on August 28. Weighing 17 kg, the baby cow is in healthy condition.

The successful reproduction of the transgenic cloned cow proves that cloned cow is capable of propagation; the fatty fat connexin gene can been inherited as it has been found inside the baby cow; the transgenic cloned cow has no adverse effects on the surrounding environment, therefore the somatic cell transgenic cloning technology can be safely applied in the production of transgenic animals.