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Estonian University of Life Sciences presents the clone calf
On Tuesday, September 3 at 11 a public seminar will take place at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences of Estonian University of Life Sciences to celebrate the birth of the first transgenic calf in Estonia, called Juuni (June in English).
On June 22, 2013 a transgenic female calf was born at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, whose genome contains the gene of human growth hormone. It is expected that in the future she will produce human growth hormone in her milk. „There are only a few cows in the whole world whose milk contains human proteins that may be used to produce medicine,“ explained Ülle Jaakma, Vice-Rector of Research at Estonian University of Life Sciences, adding that meanwhile, in pharmaceutical industry, introduction of transgenic technology is of revolutionary importance, allowing to produce high quality drugs at a lower cost.
As a result of research, the competence for cloning and transgenic technology has been developed in Estonia. „Transgenic technology also offers new possibilities for the future breeding, allowing to breed animals that are more disease-resistant or produce milk that is enriched with certain health promoting components,“ commented Jaakma.
The transgenic calf was born as a result of scientific cooperation between the Estonian University of Life Sciences, University of Tartu and Competence Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Biology.
Development of transgenic cloning technology was financed by Enterprise Estonia (EAS).
A short video presenting the project can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqR87cw27QE