RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh forest department made headlines 11 years ago, claiming to have produced the first-ever clone of the wild buffalo, named ‘DeepAsha’ and is currently embroiled in scepticism.
The project was executed by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, which claimed to have cloned the wild buffalo for the first time in the country through the ‘Hand-guided Cloning Technique’ at ICAR-NDRI in December 2014.
The clone appears like a Murrah buffalo (domestic) breed, and notably the Wild buffalo is listed under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act.
Amid the demand by wildlife enthusiasts of DeepAsha’s DNA report, the state forest department decided to raise a query to the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) asking, “Is it technically possible to create xerox copy of wild buffalo in a cloning method where ovaries (that produces oocyte/egg cells) for cloning is sourced from slaughter house?”
The response given to the department by CCMB in March this year that it was 'not possible', was acquired under the Right to Information.
“In the case of the wild buffalo clone ‘DeepAsha’, it has probably inherited a few mitochondrial DNA (genes found within mitochondria, a powerhouse of cells) from domestic buffalo since the oocytes used for cloning were from a domestic buffalo. At present, with the available technology for endangered species, a complete match of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in cloned and free-living wild animal (donor) is not possible”, stated a CCMB report.
Defending cloning as a promising methodology to maintain the gene pool of dwindling population, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (wildlife management and planning) Prem Kumar told TNIE that the scientific innovative endeavour inherently involves uncertainties that should not discourage efforts to protect nature and wildlife.
“The CCMB report does not provide an absolute conclusion on the feasibility of creating a replica of a wild buffalo through cloning compared to its wild counterpart”, said Kumar.
The wildlife enthusiasts nevertheless expressed their resentment against the forest department following the CCMB report.
“Why DeepAsha, looking like a Murrah buffalo, is kept in captivity for over half her life and not allowed to live in a natural habitat? I had demanded a DNA test of DeepAsha and sought her release. The forest department has spent crores of rupees on the project”, asked Nitin Singhvi, a wildlife enthusiast.
The forest department said that it sought the opinions of NDRI Karnal and CCMB before execution of the project that was intended to conserve the endangered gene pool of wild buffalo species in Chhattisgarh, cited as innovative and the first of its kind.