Cloning Biology I

Cloning Defined  A clone is an organism that is genetically IDENTICAL to another organism  Can you think of a natural way that a clone may be formed?  “Identical” twins have the exact same genetic make- up so technically they are clones  What is artificial embryo twinning?  This is how identical twins are formed only the process takes place in a petri dish by a scientist...a fertilized egg (zygote) is split into two separate embryos very early in development  How is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer different?

How do you make a clone? (SCNT)  1. Isolate a somatic cell from one donor and an egg cell from another donor  2. Enucleate the egg cell...what does enucleate mean?  Enucleate means to remove the nucleus from the egg cell  3. Transfer the nucleus of the somatic cell into the enucleated egg cell...why?  So that the clone will have a complete set of genetic material  4. Chemically stimulate the new cell to divide until it becomes a morula...What is a morula?  Morula = Solid ball of cells that results from mitosis  5. Implant the morula into a surrogate mother...what is a surrogate?  Surrogate = someone that carries the embryo and gives birth to the offspring but is not genetically related to the offspring

Dolly the clone and her daughter Polly

Identical Copy?  Two reasons why a clone might not necessarily be a carbon copy of the donor organism  1. Clone is not the same age as the current individual that has been cloned. You cannot clone yourself and end up with a 15/16 year old you!  2. Nature vs. Nurture-in order to be true clones both individuals would have to grow up in the exact same environment and have all the same experiences. Environment can affect personality and physical appearance in organisms. These plants have the exact same genes for flower color but they are growing in soils with different acidity so the flower color is affected.

Reasons to Consider Cloning  For medical purposes  Produce animals with genetic mutations that allow researchers to test treatments, or learn more about the disease  Creating stem cells to be used in research  Bringing back endangered or extinct species  Reproducing a deceased pet This woman paid $50,000 to have her dog cloned by a South Korean Company two years ago.

Risks of Cloning  High rate of failure-there were 277 attempts to clone a sheep before Dolly was born.  Some organisms have shown problems during later development  LOS (Large Offspring Syndrome)-can lead to breathing and blood flow problems  Impaired Immune system, kidney or brain malformations