Cloning - Will It Effect the Mule Industry?

By Amy McLean, Sowhatchett Mule Farm Inc.

Could you imagine going to the Bishop, California to Mule Days and there were not one
but two Tim Phillips showing? Whoa, if one is not enough.  Really, he’s a super nice guy
with great mules but what if he had a clone or what if one of his mules like “Tuff Stuff”
was cloned.  Would that mean double the trouble and competition? Not exactly. 

Recently, I’ve been working with a company at the University of Georgia that is working
on cloning cattle and pigs.  It is my job to take care of eight cloned Angus calves.  

Working around these calves has given me a better understanding of cloning and the
effects it has on the individual.  So you may be asking yourself exactly what is a clone? 

The easiest way to describe a clone is like a Xerox copy. You take the same stuff and
copy it. In this case we are taking about genes, or DNA.  You have something you want
to clone say your jack well, you take his DNA and insert it into an egg and take out the
egg’s DNA and then use electrolysis and some how or another you get a clone. The clone
is the same as its parent clone genetically. Some of the physical markings can be different
due to intrauterine environments as well as some other traits.  

Cloning is becoming more common in cattle and other livestock species. Horses have
been cloned but the procedure is more difficult because horses do not super ovulate,
meaning they do not commonly release more than one egg or ovum.  A company out of
Maryland clones horses and you can pay to have this done. Horses or donkeys unlike
cattle only ovulate at one spot on their ovaries known as the fossa or ovulation fossa. 

Cattle can ovulate at any point on their ovary, making it possible for the cow to ovulate
more than one egg at a time.  Since the mare and jennet’s anatomy is different and they
produce fewer eggs this decreases the chances of cloning.  At school it is typical to go
through 200 or more eggs before you get a clone that is viable. Then only 50% of the
viable cloned embryos survive pass 45 days, 20% of those cloned embryos last 120 days
and about 5% will go on to 200 days.  Another words, the process is still not very
efficient and it would be even harder to work with species that produces fewer eggs.

Besides the physical differences in cattle versus equine, something else to think about is
the different purpose the animals are raised for.  Cattle are raised to produce a product
like meat. That is something that can be measured objectively (with numbers and data). 

Mules and Donkeys are mainly raised for pleasure and performance a trait measured
subjectively (measured by the eye or an opinion).  Yes, you can copy the genes but can
you copy the environment?  The cloned calves at school are all relatively the same age
and they are all similar in sizes but still somewhat different.  The calves eat the same feed
and amounts but they are growing differently.  Also, the other interesting thing about
these calves is their personalities.  Each of these calves expresses different personalities.

Some of the calves are friendlier, some more aggressive, and others just lay around and
could care less if you pet them or feed them. It is my opinion that cloning mules or horses
would prove to be an even more difficult task because of the differences in personalities
and the difficulty of cloning the same environment.  For example, we have all seen full
brother and sister mules before and I’m sure we have witnessed some of them turn into
great show mules and the other never really make, same genetics for the most part but
different results.  The environment they are raised and trained in has a lot to do with their
potential performance along with their attitude. Some mules and donkeys are more
willing and learn faster, move better, etc. and others are not.  That is the key thing to the
cloned calves, the fact that they act different and are responding different due to their
environment.  So, I think this can ease our minds some knowing that even though the
animal has the exact same genetic make-up still does not insurance the exact same
performance results.  I would like to one-day see a mule or donkey cloned especially a
mule since they can not reproduce. I believe that would be a major advantage to the mule
industry, but it would still not insurance the same performance results. 

Another challenge facing the equine world, especially the mule and donkey end of things is the
lack of research in reproduction and genealogy.  The cloning procedure is somewhat
pricey too but if you loose a donkey or mule that means a lot to you and you might be
interested in one day cloning that animal make sure and keep a tissue sample of your
special long eared friend frozen.   

 I am not an expert on this subject, I’m a just reporting what I have learned through work
and my experiences with these cloned animals. If you have questions or comments please
feel free to email me at amule@bellsouth.net or you can call at 706-342-4472.

Article courtesy of:
Sowhatchett Mule Farm Inc.
Ray, Jessica and Amy McLean
Madison, GA
706 342-1037

www.sowhatchetmulefarminc.com