Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a relatively new technique applied to
the buffalo species. The current oocyte maturation, enucleation and nuclear transfer,
and in vitro embryo culture systems for buffalo reconstructed embryos, are comparable
with bovine SCNT. However, there are very few reports on delivery of normal live
cloned buffalo calves. The inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which made a major
breakthrough in the remodeling of somatic cell nucleus by inducing different
transcription factors, have not been applied in the buffalo cloning. Moreover, the
application of SCNT in transgenesis of buffalo is limited to the development of
transgenic blastocysts. In this chapter, we described recent advances and novel
approaches in SCNT and transgenic buffalo productions in connection with the
concurrent advances in other relevant mammalian species.
Keywords: Buffalo, Cloning, Induced pluripotent stem cells, Somatic cell nuclear transfer, Transgenesis
