The race is on to create super horses
Genetically engineered horses designed to be faster, stronger and better jumpers will be born in 2019 after a breakthrough by a laboratory that already clones polo ponies.
Scientists in Argentina have successfully used a powerful DNA editing technique called CRISPR to rewrite the genomes of cloned horses.
Healthy embryos were produced after the procedure, which the researchers plan to implant into a surrogate mother within two years.
The team focused on boosting the myostatin gene sequence, which is crucial to muscle development, endurance and speed. Theoretically, animals designed in such a way should be able to run faster for longer, and jump higher more easily.
Traditionally the same traits would be achieved by breeding animals that already exhibited desirable features. But it can take many generations to develop a beneficial trait.
Daniel Sammartino, the founder of Kheiron Biotech, a cloning specialist based in Buenos Aires, said: “This technology brings additional progress in horse breeding. It could be possible to achieve better horses in less time.
“Our next big challenge is not only to export our technology, but fundamentally develop these scientific advances in other animals for multiple purposes.”
The first cloned horse was created in 2003 by U.S. company ViaGen and cloned polo ponies are now widespread.
Last year, Adolfo Cambiaso rode six horses cloned from the same mare, to help his team win the Argentinian open.
Though cloning itself cannot improve a line, some believe it offers advantages over the original donor horse, as breeders can make sure the environment and training is a perfect fit, meaning that it is likely the “daughter” clone will be better than the original.
In 2013, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) lifted the ban on cloned horses competing internationally after a review found they were unlikely to have any advantage over horses bred traditionally. But none has so far competed at the Olympic Games.
The FEI said there were no rules yet in place to stop genetically engineered horses competing.
Shannon Gibbons, an FEI spokesman, said: “The performance of a cloned horse is unlikely to match that of the original horse for a number of reasons, including the maternal uterine environment, nutrition, training and the understanding that clones are not exactly the same as the original.
“Additionally, as progeny of cloned horses will be produced by conventional reproductive methods, such as natural covering or artificial insemination, maintaining fair play is protected.
“The FEI will therefore not forbid participation of clones or their progenies in FEI competitions. However, we will continue to monitor further scientific research.”
British equestrian bodies also said there was nothing preventing genetically edited animals from competing.
The results of the research will be published early next year in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells.