CNN called it the top science story of the week. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal both teased it on front pages, drawing readers to stories about a news conference at the University of Idaho. From the Age of Melbourne to the Times of London, word that a UI–Utah State University team had cloned the first member of the horse family, a mule, circled the globe as May ended.

Right, first cloned mule stands chin high to surrogate mom, a paint mare named Idaho Syringa 13 hours after birth. Photo by Phil Schofield.

News rippled through circles as diverse as horse and mule racing and cancer researchers. Cloning succeeded because it relied on new insights into basic cell biology that suggest the horse may offer an important new animal model for human disease. (See related story Equine cloning may shed light on human cancer growth.)

Idaho Gem, the spirited cloned mule foal, attracted worldwide attention both for its novelty—it is full brother of Post Falls businessman Don Jacklin’s fleetfooted famous racing mule Taz, and it is the first hybrid animal clone—and because the science behind the project is rock solid.

It’s the work of Gordon Woods, a veterinarian and University of Idaho professor of animal and veterinary science; Dirk Vanderwall, UI assistant professor of animal and veterinary science; and Ken White, Utah State University animal scientist and cloning expert.

Woods’ career path increasingly focused on horse reproduction soon after he earned his 1974 bachelor’s degree from UI. Vanderwall studied with Woods while completing his veterinary science Ph.D. in 1992.

Left, see sampling of papers with frontpage Idaho Gem coverage. Collage photo by Joe Pallen

As gratified as Woods is by this culmination of five years’ research, his interest is shifting to broader topics— sources of human diseases including prostate and breast cancers and diabetes. Newsweek quoted Woods on what the researchers learned about manipulating calcium levels during cloning and possible applications to human health: “The real opportunity from these studies is to use the horse as a model to study age-onset diseases in humans.”

The Idaho-Utah team published results in the journal Science, U.S. pinnacle of scientific publishing. Peer-reviewed, their achievement and interest in it convinced the editors to fast track its publication. Science turned the story in just 19 days.

Competition played a role in the Science editors’ speed. An Italian team reportedly also had a cloned horse due in late May. And Vanderwall’s presentation about the U.S. team’s progress last summer to horse experts in Colorado attracted interest in farflung labs.

France’s Eric Palmer, one of the world’s leading equine reproduction researchers from Sonchamp, near Paris, visited Moscow in April to learn about the team’s progress. Palmer’s interest in cloning reflects his belief in market demand within European equestrian sports including dressage, eventing, and endurance events.

Champion horses take a decade or more to prove their abilities. “Ninety percent of the big champions are castrated horses,” says Palmer. Cloning those gelded males can replicate the stallion and incorporate those proven genetics into improved bloodlines.

Tinkering with the “holy grail”

Vanderwall also sees that potential. His expertise is collecting oocytes, or eggs, from mares, raw material for producing a clone. “We knew we faced some challenges. We were quite certain we wouldn’t just be able to directly transfer cloning technology used in other species,” Vanderwall says. “Every aspect of this project was breaking new ground.”

White brought expertise in nuclear transfers from somatic, or differentiated, cells. For Idaho Gem, the nucleus from a mule fetal skin cell was injected into an egg extracted from the mare. This new nucleus offered a full complement of chromosomes.

“All of us were able to complement one another and provide pieces of the puzzle the others didn’t have,” White said. “In my mind the horse has been kind of the holy grail of the nuclear transfer area. I can say I saw this baby when he was a single cell. He looked good then and he looks good today.”

At 3:05 a.m. on May 4, after a 346-day gestation, Idaho Gem slipped unassisted into the world from his surrogate mother, a paint mare named Idaho Syringa. The 107-pound foal proved the merits of hybrid vigor immediately, getting to its feet only 12 minutes after birth.

Before summer ends, Idaho Gem could have two identical cloned brothers. Their effects on medicine, equine sports, and preservation of endangered species remains to be seen. Wherever it all heads, look for the Idaho-Utah State team in the lead.

WINNERS CIRCLE

Should awesome equine athletes be cloned,especially if they are geldings? The May 29 presentation to the world of Idaho Gem, the first cloned equine, coincided with the gelding Funny Cide’s run for thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes nine days later. As Idaho Gem’s story circulated, a business associate called it to the attention of Harold Cring, one of Funny Cide’s owners. Toronto Globe and Mail writer Stephen Strauss reported Cring’s reaction. “I sort of laughed it off. But I got to thinking about it, so I am meeting with a couple of the other owners and I will see what they say.” Racing officials, however, had a different response. Jockey Club spokesman Bob Curran dismissed the prospect.The club previously had amended its rules to ban cloning. “I refer you back to the rules,” Curran said. “A clone will not be registered, and the son of a non-registered animal won’t be registered. The fact that the clone is not registered means he virtually does not exist in the Jockey Club database or American stud registry. ”Other horse registries set their own policies on reproductive technologies, such as cloning. Stay tuned, as this chapter, too, will be continued.

Above: Proud scientists (from right) UI’s Gordon Woods, Dirk Vanderwall, and Utah State University’s Ken White pose with 25-day-old Idaho Gem during May 29 UI press conference. Photo by Phil Schofield.