title: Learning, memory and exploratory similarities in genetically identical cloned dogs.
abstract: Somatic cell nuclear transfer allows generation of genetically identical animals using donor cells derived from animals with particular traits. To date, few studies have investigated whether or not these cloned dogs will show identical behavior patterns. To address this question, learning, memory and exploratory patterns were examined using six cloned dogs with identical nuclear genomes. The variance of total incorrect choice number in the Y-maze test among cloned dogs was significantly lower than that of the control dogs. There was also a significant decrease in variance in the level of exploratory activity in the open fields test compared to age-matched control dogs. These results indicate that cloned dogs show similar cognitive and exploratory patterns, suggesting that these behavioral phenotypes are related to the genotypes of the individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Chi Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology & Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Geon A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA90089, USA.
authors.forename: Kwan Yong
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, College of Natural Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology & Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology & Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Jung
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Theriogenology & Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Byeong Chun
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000662:veterinary*; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning; D008568:Memory
keywords: cloned dogs; exploratory; learning and memory; similarity; somatic cell nuclear transfer