With a view to save the rare species of wild buffalo (Ban Bhainsa) from extinction, State Government has invited famous wildlife embryo biotechnology expert Dr SK Singla of Hissar, Haryana to Udanti Sanctuary for preparing clone of the lone female wild buffalo, Asha, left in the sanctuary, a forest official said on Monday. Ashutosh Mishra, Divisional Forest Officer, Gariaband, said, “Dr Singla will send his senior assistant Dr Ajay Kumar to Udanti Wildlife sanctuary soon to take sample cells of the lone female. He himself has handed over a cheque of `10 lakh to Dr Singla as part of the project cost recently, requesting him to take this challenging project in his hand. Dr Ajay Kumar is likely to reach Udanti in the second week of October.” Notably, Chhattisgarh’s State animal wild buffalo - Bubalus bubalis is a rare species of animal and is only found in some of the State sanctuaries. Udanti sanctuary, spread in about 247.59 square kilometre nearly 100 km south east of capital Raipur in Gariaband district bordering Odisha, is left with single female member of the species raising possibility of extinction as captive breeding failed to add any new female member. Wild buffalo (Ban Bhainsa) is similar to bison in appearance but is a different species and is also found in a very limited number in Indrawati Tiger Project, Sitanadi, Bhoramdeo, Tamor Pingla, Bhairamgarh and Pamed sanctuaries of Chhattisgarh. The official disclosed that as per plan, Dr Ajay Kumar will take 10-15 samples of Asha’s somatic cells and after completing chemical and heat treatment implant them in the egg cells of some special species of buffalo found in Haryana to prepare the clone. If the project succeeds, the same method will also be adopted for increasing the numbers of bison, lions, leopards and other wild animals facing extinction. According to experts, the most common cloning method, known as “somatic cell nuclear transfer” or simply “nuclear transfer,” requires two kinds of cell. One is a somatic cell, which is collected from the animal that is to be cloned (known as the “genetic donor”). A somatic cell is any cell other than a sperm cell or egg cell, and contains the complete DNA, or genetic blueprint, of the animal it came from. For cloning purposes, somatic cells are typically obtained by a routine skin biopsy performed by a veterinarian. The other kind of cell required for cloning is an egg cell, which is collected from a female of the same species (known as the “egg donor”). In the lab, a scientist extracts and discards the nucleus of the egg cell, which is the part of the cell that contains the egg donor’s genes. The scientist then inserts the somatic cell from the genetic donor into the egg and “fuses” the two with electricity. The resulting fused egg contains the genetic donor’s DNA. The scientist stimulates the fused egg, which “activates” the egg and causes it to divide just as an egg would if it had been fertilised by a sperm cell in conventional reproduction. The activated egg is then placed in a culture medium. As cellular division continues over the course of several days, a blastocyst (early-stage embryo) is formed. After about a week, an embryo transfer specialist transfers the blastocyst to a recipient female (sometimes referred to as “surrogate mother”), where it continues to develop. After a full-term pregnancy, the recipient gives birth to an animal that is essentially the identical twin of the genetic donor.