SINGAPORE, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A research team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) said that they have created the world's first semi-cloned fish, local media reported on Friday.
According to local radio 938live, the fertile female medaka fish named Holly, was created with the semi-cloning genetic approach, which uses a new and unpredictable combination of genetic traits from both parents similar to normal fertilization.
The radio said that Holly has gone on to produce many normal offspring that carry a genetic marker identical to hers and her parents.
Researchers at the NUS said that this indicates that the technique retains genetic stability hence providing a powerful tool for transmission of genetic information to the offspring- similar to normal reproduction, adding that their findings have important implications for reproductive medicine and technology like for treatment of male infertility.
Their findings will be published in the Oct. 16 issue of Science Journal.
Sat Oct 17, 2009 1:44 pm