"Hot" professions in the Middle East

Báo Quốc Tế•01/04/2023

Nhân bản lạc đà: Nghề hot tại Trung Đông

In 2009, the world's first successful camel cloning operation, performed by Nisar Ahmad Wani, was hailed as a tremendous scientific achievement. Currently the Director of the Reproductive Biotechnology Centre (RPC) in Dubai, the method has become so popular that cloning research occupies 5-9 hours of his workday.

Wani's team is researching and developing new cloning techniques and maintaining cell banks, which would allow the creation of clones of other animal species such as buffalo and sheep.

However, the center still focuses on camel cloning. Each year, the center creates dozens of one-humped camels using cloning methods, most notably a replica of the "beauty queen" camel, with its harmonious combination of drooping lips and a long neck.

Restoring beauty

Camel beauty contests are very popular in Gulf countries, with prize money reaching tens of millions of dollars. Previously, the use of techniques such as silicone and filler injections, and inflating body parts with rubber bands to enhance the attractiveness of the "contestants," was considered illegal. However, cloned camels are completely legal in these competitions.

Although RPC did not disclose the cloning price, according to local press reports, the cost of a one-to-one replica of the most beautiful camel could range around $50,000.

Besides cloning "beauty queens," Wani's team also recreates elite racing champions to compete in various camel races in the UAE, and genetically modifies camels to produce proteins in their milk for use in pharmaceuticals. Additionally, they help pet owners preserve images of their pets from cell samples that can be taken immediately after the animal dies.

The Wani group is developing a process that uses DNA from "soma" (non-reproductive) cells taken from donor animals. The nuclei from these donor cells will be transferred into eggs and activated with chemicals.

"DNA from somatic cells begins to function like embryonic DNA. Once activated, it is cultured in the laboratory for 7 to 8 days before being transferred to the uterus of a 'surrogate mother'. The child is born with all the genes from a donor animal," Wani explained.

However, according to Wani, the success rate of this procedure is only about 10%, compared to 60% of natural pregnancies at full term.

A cultural icon

Peacocks have played a significant role in everyday life in Dubai. Besides participating in competitions, these humpback animals transport goods across the harsh deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and serve as a source of meat and milk. They are also a cultural symbol of the traditional lifestyle of the people of Dubai.

Obaid Al Falasi, co-founder of the Arabian Desert Camel Riding Centre, Dubai's first camel riding school, said: “Camels were an essential element for survival in the Middle East before the oil age. Their ability to withstand harsh climates and survive on very little food and water made them the preferred means of transportation between countries and settlements. Furthermore, camels were considered assets and companions, a tradition that persists in some tribes and families in the region. For many, they also held spiritual significance. Camels are mentioned in the Quran and are described repeatedly as possessing unique characteristics compared to other species, having been given by God the ability to survive in the absence of water and food.”

Given these characteristics, according to Obaid Al Falasi, cloning camels is not considered blasphemy. "Cloning is a scientific achievement in itself, that's how it is," he explained.

Besides cloning, to improve the chances of success and reproductive rates, the Dubai Camel Breeding Centre is focusing on researching embryo transfer from one female camel to another. Al Falasi said that the cost of cloning is too high for most people and embryo transfer is more common, "to ensure a good camel can produce more offspring, instead of having to wait one or two years."

Resurrection

Now, Wani and his team are looking for ways to use this technology to help endangered species.

The wild Bactrian two-humped camel is one of the most endangered large mammals on the planet, threatened by habitat loss and mating with domestic camels. To help conserve this species, Wani's team is researching techniques involving somatic cell nuclear transfer between species, in which a closely related domesticated animal is used as an egg donor as well as a surrogate mother to carry cloned embryos to maturity.

In 2017, the first cloned Bactrian camel was born at the center using this method, after the embryo was implanted into a dromedary camel.

In the future, Wani hopes to use cloning techniques to conserve other critically endangered animal species and even help restore extinct ones.

"Our center focuses on developing and applying the latest reproductive techniques such as cloning, IVF, artificial insemination, and embryo transfer to enhance the breeding of various animal species in the region and also to conserve endangered species," Wani said.