Greater
Kashmir: Srinagar: Monday, October 15, 2012.
The
Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)
Kashmir has faced a query under the Right to Information Act over the
authenticity of the world’s first Pashmina goat clone-Noorie.
What has
thrown up surprise is the varsity’s response to the RTI application indicating
therein that it is yet to prove the validity of ‘Noorie’ clone.
According to
norms, the authenticity of the world's first pashmina goat clone had to be
confirmed by an independent committee by taking the DNA samples from the goat
replica—something which the University has not done as of now.
In reply to
an RTI application submitted by one Altaf Hussain of Srinagar, the SKUAST-K has
revealed that “no independent committee has been constituted or DNA samples
taken to prove the validity of the Noorie goat clone.” “We are in a process of
collection of samples for isolation of DNA from different animals (surrogate,
clone, unrelated goat etc.) as well as the cell line involved with the cloned
goat. The DNA samples would be taken in a week or two,” the reply states. The
applicant had also questioned whether the University constituted an independent
committee to certify the validity of Noorie. “Our team is following guidelines
as have been followed in earlier case of cloned buffalo born at the Lead
Consortium National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal,” the reply states.
According to
set norms and guidelines, a veterinarian said, authenticity is guaranteed only
by involving a third party to collect the samples and get them analyzed by “employing
a double-blind technique.”
It has also
come to fore that the SKUAST-K has not even involved any agency for undertaking
the DNA profiling of Noorie clone. “Analysis of samples for mtDNA is neither in
the work plan of the sub-project activities nor is of much significance in
production of the cloned offspring in goats using the methodology adopted and
approved by the Consortium Advisory Committee (CAC) of the sub-project,” the
University reply states.
The
University has also stated that no DNA sample has been preserved as “the team
is the process of collection of same.”
Pertinently,
"Noori" which means "light" in Arabic was produced on March
9 this year by a team of scientists of SKUAST-K. The lead project scientist was
Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah, a veterinarian in the animal biotechnology center of the
University.
Talking to
Greater Kashmir about the issue, Dr Riaz said it was not mandatory to
constitute the committee to validate the Noorie clone. “The University has sent
the samples to various laboratories in India and abroad. Constituting an
independent committee is the internal matter of the varsity and optional,” he
said.
Dr Riaz said
many international journals have validated Noorie clone. “First we have been
doing everything in consultation with National Dairy Research Institute and
second we cannot take any decision unilaterally,” he said, adding that one set
of sample of Noorie’s DNA is with scientists.
The SKUAST-K
scientist said the varsity has given answer to every question of the RTI activist.
The “world's
first pashmina goat clone” was produced jointly by SKAUST-K and Karnal-based
National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), funded by World Bank.
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