London: Scientists and a mule-racing philanthropist are celebrating the birth of the first cloned mule, according to a report in ‘Nature’. The new entrant is the first equine animal to be cloned, and the technique that created him could prove indispensable to racehorse breeders.

Christened 'Idaho Gem' after the state of his birth, the mule lives up to the breed's stubborn reputation, confers proud team leader Gordon Woods of the University of Idaho in Moscow. Apparently, after a recent photo shoot, it took six people to capture him!

Researchers are now pinning hopes to use the mule-cloning technique for producing identical copies of champion jumpers or show-horses. With huge race jackpots at stake, horse breeders would not cringe at the huge price tags for cloning a valuable animal for breeding. Interestingly, breeders can already pay stud fees as high as half a million dollars to mate mares with a winning thoroughbred stallion.

Reproductive biologist Katrin Hinrichs at the Texas A&M University predicts endangered horse species and other family members like zebras and wild asses, can also be saved by cloning.

However, what remains to be seen is whether 'Idaho Gem' will develop health problems later in life, with other cloned animals, notably Dolly the sheep, showing signs of premature ageing.

ANI