First ‘Test-Tube’ Puppies Born, Researchers Report

Veterinarians, scientists and researchers gathered around a surrogate hound and watched her give birth to seven half-pound puppies, the first dogs ever conceived in a test tube. Researchers have managed to create a litter of puppies through vitro fertilization (IVP) and they believe that their breakthrough could benefit dogs, their wild cousins and even people. They are trying to make it possible to eliminate inherited diseases in dogs with a combination of IVF and gene editing. Unfortunately for some dogs, inbreeding has made such diseases a major issue in purebred dogs. As an example, Golden retrievers are at high risk for lymphoma and Dalmatians have a gene that puts them at risk for blockages from urinary stones. Alex Travis of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine stated “Since the mis-1970s, people have been trying to do this in a dog and have been unsuccessful. It was him and his colleagues that transferred nineteen embryos to the host mother, who gave birth to seven healthy puppies. Two of the puppies came from a beagle mother and a cocker spaniel father, and the other five came from two beagle mother and father pairs.

Now the researchers say that they have made two very significant changes in the IVF process to achieve fertilization rates of 80 to 90 percent. The findings of this study can also be used to help endangered species of wolves and other wilds cousins of dogs and to help preserve rare breeds of show and working dogs. 

The investigators of the study even pointed out that dogs and humans share hundred of similar genetic disorders. Dogs now offer a powerful tool for understanding the genetic basis of diseases due to the successful use of the IVF to create a litter of puppies. This could also lead to potential models for human disease as well.

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