Cloning rabbits from fetal fibroblasts

Live rabbits were generated through nuclear transfer using adult cells as nuclear donors. We showed that, in addition to adult cell nuclei, cultured fetal rabbit fibroblasts could support full-term embryonic development following nuclear transfer to enucleated oocytes. Following nuclear transfer, 24.4% (21/86) of resulting embryos developed to the blastocyst stage, and 289 embryos were transferred to oviducts of 11 recipient mothers, resulting in 6 pregnancies. Three mothers carried the pregnancy to term, and three newborn rabbits were subsequently delivered by caesarian, one of which survived for more than 4 months. DNA analyses confirmed that all 3 rabbits were genetically identical to fetal donor cells. This study demonstrated that rabbits could be cloned from fetal fibroblasts, although at a lower frequency than when using adult somatic cells as nuclear donors.