title: DNA methylation analysis on satellite I region in blastocysts obtained from somatic cell cloned cattle.
abstract: Many observations have been made on cloned embryos and on adult clones by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), but it is still unclear whether the progeny of cloned animals is presenting normal epigenetic status. Here, in order to accumulate the information for evaluating the normality of cloned cattle, we analyzed the DNA methylation status on satellite I region in blastocysts obtained from cloned cattle. Embryos were produced by artificial insemination (AI) to non-cloned or cloned dams using semen from non-cloned or cloned sires. After 7 days of AI, embryos at blastocyst stage were collected by uterine flushing. The DNA methylation levels in embryos obtained by using semen and/or oocytes from cloned cattle were similar to those in in vivo embryos from non-cloned cattle. In contrast, the DNA methylation levels in SCNT embryos were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than those in in vivo embryos from non-cloned and cloned cattle, approximately similar to those in somatic cells used as donor cells. Thus, this study provides useful information that epigenetic status may be normal in the progeny of cloned cattle, suggesting the normality of germline cells in cloned cattle.
authors.affiliation: National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Koshi, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneda
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Kaiyu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakatani
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugimura
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics*; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques