A cloned dog of a native breed close to extinction, the Sapsaree, gave birth to puppies last year, and one of them became pregnant recently.

 

Seven puppies born from the cloned short-haired badugi Sapsaree (Chungnam National University Professor Kim Min-kyu)

According to professor Kim Min-kyu of Chungnam National University whose team conducted the genetic experiment on Tuesday, the cloned Sapsaree gave birth to seven puppies through artificial insemination last December. Two of the seven pups were short-haired.

The cloned dog had its genes reproduced from a male short-haired badugi (meaning “spotted” in Korean) Sapsaree in 2017. The original dog was the first naturally born short-haired badugi since the Japanese colonial era, during which the whole breed was killed in large numbers for their fur by the Japanese military.

 

Professor Kim Min-kyu stands with a short-haired badugi Sapsaree puppy in the center, with the cloned Sapsaree father on the left and long-haired puppy on the right. (Chungnam National University Professor Kim Min-kyu)

Short-haired Sapsarees are rare among the characteristically long-haired canine breed. Short hairs are born naturally at 1 percent possibility, and those with spotted fur are even rarer. Only around 600 Sapsarees exist in South Korea, with around 50 short-haired of the kind among them.

“The seven baby dogs of the cloned Sapsaree are now near 1 year in age, and they are all healthy and able to reproduce,” Kim said. “This marks the successful restoration of a canine breed (the short-haired badugi Sapsaree) that could have disappeared from their homeland.”

<Word>

genetic-relating to genes or genetics

artificial-not real or not made of natural things but made to be like something that is real or natural

reproduce-if an animal or plant reproduces, or reproduces itself, it produces young plants or animals

restoration-when you repair something such as an old building or a piece of furniture so that it looks the same as when it was first built or made

homeland-the ｃountry where someone was born

<Comprehension Quiz>

What were the characteristics of two of the seven pups?