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South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases.
The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by daylight.
But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye.
Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-chun, head of the research team, called them the world's first transgenic dogs carrying fluorescent genes, an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty.
"What's significant in this work is not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them," Lee told the reporters on Tuesday.
His team identified the dogs as clones of a cell donor through DNA tests and earlier this month introduced the achievement in a paper on the Web site of the journal "Genesis."
Scientists in the US, Japan and in Europe previously have cloned fluorescent mice and pigs, but this would be the first time dogs with modified genes have been cloned successfully, Lee said.
He said his team took skin cells from a beagle, inserted fluorescent genes into them and put them into eggs before implanted them into the womb of a surrogate mother, a local mixed breed.
Six female beagles were born in December 2007 through a cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that make them glow, he said. Two died, but the four others survived.
The glowing dogs show that it is possible to successfully insert genes with a specific trait, which could lead to implanting other, non-fluorescent genes that could help treat specific diseases, Lee said.
The scientist said his team has started to implant human disease-related genes in the course of dog cloning, saying that will help them find new treatments for genetic diseases such as Parkinson's.
A South Korean scientist who created glowing cats in 2007 based on a similar cloning technique said that Lee's puppies are genuine clones, saying he had seen them and had read about them in the journal.
"We can appraise this is a step forward" toward finding cures for human diseases, said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun at South Korea's Gyeongsang National University. "What is important now is on what specific diseases (Lee's team) will focus on."
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韩国科学家日前称，他们利用克隆技术培育出了四只可以发出红色荧光的比格猎犬，这一研究成果能够帮助人们研发治疗人类疾病的方法。
这四只狗都取名为“Ruppy”（“ruby”和“puppy”的合成词），在正常光条件下，它们看起来和普通的比格猎犬没什么差别。
但在紫外线的照射下，它们会发出红光，尤其是爪子和皮肤很薄的腹部，用肉眼都能看出发红。
研究小组负责人、首尔国立大学教授李炳春称它们为世界首例携带有荧光基因的转基因狗，这一研究成果的意义不仅仅是发光那么简单。
李炳春于本周二接受记者采访时说：“这项研究成果的意义不是狗能够发红，而是我们将相关基因植入了它们体内。”
他的研究小组通过DNA检测用捐献狗细胞克隆出了这几只小狗。该研究报告已在本月初的《成因》杂志网站上发表。
李炳春称，美国、日本和欧洲的科学家此前已克隆出荧光鼠和荧光猪，但成功克隆出转基因狗在世界尚属首例。
据他介绍，他的研究小组先从一只比格猎犬身上提取皮肤细胞，再向细胞中植入荧光基因，之后将其注入卵细胞，再将受精卵植入代孕母狗的子宫内。这只母狗是当地的一个杂交品种。
李炳春称，2007年12月，六只克隆雌性比格猎犬出生，它们体内携带的一种可产生红色荧光蛋白的基因可使它们的身体发光，之后有两只狗死亡，但其余四只都活了下来。
他表示，荧光狗的研究成果表明，移植某种带有特殊品性的基因是可行的，这样说来，今后移植可帮助治疗特定疾病的其它基因就将成为可能。
李炳春称，在克隆狗期间，研究小组已开始移植与人类疾病有关的基因，并称这将帮助他们找到治疗帕金森症等基因疾病的方法。
韩国一位科学家曾在2007年利用类似的基因技术克隆出了荧光猫。他说，李炳春克隆出的这些狗是真正的克隆狗，并称自己已经见过它们，并在杂志上阅读了研究论文。
韩国国立庆尚大学的兽医教授金可仁说：“我们可以说，这一研究成果向探索人类疾病的治疗方法迈进了一步。现在重要的是（李炳春的研究小组）将重点研究哪种疾病。” |
