Calf Cloned from Elite Karan-Kirti Buffalo

13th september 2013, Karnal

In a unique achievement, the scientists of National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) at Karnal have produced a cloned calf from a buffalo named ‘Karan-Kirti’ at NDRI farm Karan-Kirti yielded 4425 kg of milk in its first lactation in 427 days of lactation and had a yield of 3812 kg in 305 days told Dr.A.K.Srivastava Director of NDRI here today. He added that the peak yield of the buffalo was 25.1 kg that was recorded highest so far in the history of the Institute.

Dr. A. K. Srivastava, Director, NDRI informed that the calf named “Purnima", weighing 44 kg was born through normal delivery on September 6, 2013. The calf, which was produced through the new and advanced ‘Hand-guided Cloning Technique’, is different from the earlier cloned calves because, in this case, the used donor cell was from the ear of an adult outstanding buffalo. The team of the jubilant scientists involved in the production of this cloned calf, which includes Dr. S.K. Singla, Dr. M.S. Chauhan,  Dr. R.S. Manik, Dr. P. Palta, Dr. Shiv Parsad, Dr. Monika Saini and Dr Naresh Selokar are of the opinion that the adult somatic cells upon processing for cloning can bring about revolution by copying the proven genetics many folds. 

Dr. S. Ayyappan, Secretary, DARE and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi congratulated the team and said that this new advancement in the technology of “Hand-guided Cloning” of buffaloes will facilitate faster multiplication of elite germplasm and help us face the challenges of increasing demands of milk due to the ever growing human population.  Dr. K.M.L Pathak, Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), ICAR also congratulated the team.

Dr. Srivastava, emphasized that this technology could go a long way in helping multiply the number of best milch buffaloes in India.  He said that although the world’s largest population of buffaloes is in India and that they contribute about 55 per cent of the total milk production in the country, but the percentage of elite buffaloes is very less and there is an urgent need to enhance the population of these elite buffaloes.

(Source: Email: dir@ndri.res.in)