Texas A&M researchers said Thursday they have cloned a horse in collaboration with a French company trying to preserve genes of exceptional horses.
The privately owned colt, named Paris Texas, was born March 13 at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, which has cloned six different animal species in recent years. The bay colored-foal now weighs 179 pounds.
"The great thing is that Paris Texas is healthy, and this is certainly the goal of our work" said Dr. Katrin Hinrichs, a veterinarian and head of the Equine Embryo Laboratory.
Texas A&M scientists worked with Cryozootech, a French reproductive sciences laboratory, on the project. The cells were collected from a valuable performance horse in Europe and sent to the Texas A&M laboratory.
Cryozootech's client wishes the donor horse to remain anonymous at this time. The donor is a stallion, and it is hoped that Paris Texas will carry on its genetics through a breeding program.
Texas A&M researchers have cloned cattle, goats, pigs, a deer and a cat.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
