I cloned my first lamb in 1993 🐑 - Dr William Ritchie 🤩

Monash Biotech

August 21st, 2024

Yes you heard right in 1993 !

My background lies in Animal Embryology, not Human ART, but the similarities between various micromanipulation techniques are striking. I began my career in Embryology later in life, but my diverse skill set made me well-suited for the intricate work involved in micromanipulation.

I started with a practical diploma in Agriculture (HND Agriculture) and worked on a farm in the Scottish Borders run by the Animal Breeding Research Organisation (ABRO), which later became part of The Roslin Institute and eventually merged with Edinburgh University. This was many years after my first lamb was born.

At ABRO, we conducted genetic research on sheep, and I gained extensive experience in sheep husbandry. While I struggled academically due to dyslexia, I excelled in practical skills. During this time, I pursued an Open University course in genetics, eventually earning a BA (Honors) degree ten years later. By then, my job on the farm had ended, and after additional training, I transitioned to working as a Large Animal Anesthetist at the Roslin animal facility.

My work primarily involved anesthetizing sheep for egg collection. Since my tasks often concluded before the embryologists began their work, I volunteered to help them collect the eggs. My growing interest in embryology didn’t go unnoticed. When one of the PhD students began writing up his thesis, I was invited to take over the micromanipulation equipment.

Learning the necessary techniques was a long and challenging process. I had to rely on books and guidance from anyone more knowledgeable about embryology — which was almost everyone at the time. The student had little time to teach me, so after a brief explanation of the techniques, I was left to figure things out on my own. It was often frustrating, but I gradually developed and adapted the methods needed for micromanipulation.

One of the most surprising skills I had to master was the construction of tiny glass micro-tools required for micromanipulation. The idea of making a pipette to remove a part of an egg, which is nearly invisible to the human eye, was fascinating to me. I had to use rudimentary equipment — a micro-forge with a maximum magnification of 40x to just barely see the pipette I was crafting, and a grinding wheel made from odds and ends in the institute’s workshop to grind the pipettes at an angle so they could pierce the egg’s zona pellucida and extract its contents.

Handling pipettes to move eggs from dish to dish involved sucking and blowing through a rubber tube — a technique frowned upon but remarkably effective and precise. However, there were challenges, especially in the early experiments, because we lacked a reliable in-vitro method for culturing sheep embryos beyond a day or two.

I began my experiments on mouse eggs, a task I’d never done before, and quickly realized the precision required under a microscope was difficult to master. I also had to stop anesthetizing sheep because lifting heavy animals caused fine hand movements to falter, leading to noticeable hand tremors under the microscope. Additionally, I learned that consuming alcohol could also impair fine motor skills, so I cut back during the week.

After working with mouse eggs for a while, I was given sheep eggs. The differences between mouse and sheep eggs were apparent, but the real challenge was transferring a cell into an empty egg with its chromosomes removed. This process involved obtaining eggs at the correct stage, removing the shell using a glass needle, disassembling the egg, and transferring a cell into the empty egg before fusing it and transferring it to a recipient animal.

In 1992/93, I successfully cloned my first lamb, an achievement that marked a significant milestone in my career.

I came to Vadodara, Gujarat, India to help train the skilled people who now make the pipettes for Monash Biotech, a far cry from the time when I had to make all my own pipettes.

Achievements

• HND in Agriculture.

• Farm Research Assistant at Stanhope Farm, (Animal Breeding Research Organisation, Edinburgh)

• Honours Degree from The Open University.

• Anesthetist at the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh.

• Embryologist at the Roslin Institute.

• Cloned my first lamb in 1993.

• Member of the team that cloned “Morag and Megan,” the first lambs from a cultured cell line.

• Member of the team that cloned “Dolly the sheep,” the first clone from an adult cell.

• Member of the team that cloned the first animals producing human protein (Blood Factor IX).

• Member of the team that cloned the first knockout lamb (PrP).

• Made transgenic pigs, lambs, and mice using Lentivirus.

• PhD by publication in Godollo, Hungary (Developing Nuclear Transfer, Cloning, and Related Technologies in Mammals).

• Chief Technical Officer of Monash Biotech Pvt. Ltd.

• Consultant for the first cloned camel (Injaz, in Dubai).

• Gained my Private Pilot’s License.

• Author on a publication of a cell line from the Giant Panda (Durham University).

• Consultant and Embryologist for the first native breed of cattle cloned in Kenya (Boran).

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).

For more information about micropipette please do visit our website https://www.monashbiotech.com/ .

Take Care !