Toppy
Encyclopedia
Toppy is the name of the world's first cloned
working dog
s. They are seven Labrador Retriever
clones, and they were born in late 2007 to three surrogate mothers. The project cost ₩
300 million, and was funded by the Government of South Korea
; it was led by Lee Byeong-chun, a former aide to Hwang Woo-suk
, who fell from grace after his stem cell
research turned out to be fabricated.
Each Toppy is a clone of a successful sniffer dog
in Canada
; they needed 16 months of training to qualify to work for the South Korean Customs Service. Only 10-15% of dogs are genetically predisposed to being effective detection dogs.
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
working dog
Working dog
A working dog refers to a canine working animal, i.e., a type of dog that is not merely a pet but learns and performs tasks to assist and/or entertain its human companions, or a breed of such origin...
s. They are seven Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
clones, and they were born in late 2007 to three surrogate mothers. The project cost ₩
South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
300 million, and was funded by the Government of South Korea
Government of South Korea
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and...
; it was led by Lee Byeong-chun, a former aide to Hwang Woo-suk
Hwang Woo-Suk
Hwang Woo-suk is a South Korean veterinarian and researcher. He was a professor of theriogenology and biotechnology at Seoul National University who became infamous for fabricating a series of experiments, which appeared in high-profile journals, in the field of stem cell research...
, who fell from grace after his stem cell
Stem cell
This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...
research turned out to be fabricated.
Each Toppy is a clone of a successful sniffer dog
Detection dog
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to and works at using its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, or blood. Hunting dogs that search for game and search dogs that search for missing humans are generally not considered detection dogs...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; they needed 16 months of training to qualify to work for the South Korean Customs Service. Only 10-15% of dogs are genetically predisposed to being effective detection dogs.