6.1.2 Cloning and Biotechnology

Question 1

What is a clone?

Answer 1

An exact, genetically identical copy of an individual/thing

Question 2

What is natural cloning made by?

Answer 2

Asexual reproduction

Question 3

What are runners?

Answer 3

Projections that run across the ground that often contain a small clone of a plant.

Question 4

What are bulbs?

Answer 4

A fleshy group of tissue (usually at the bottom of the stem) underground.

Question 5

What is a tuber?

Answer 5

Root vegetables - enlarged structures usually of the roots that are used for storage.

Question 6

What is corm?

Answer 6

Similar to tubers but usually used to survive in extreme weather conditions.

Question 7

What is a Rhizome?

Answer 7

Swollen root area that often grow horizontal underground and allows new shoots to grow from them.

Question 8

Describe the steps of artificial cloning

Answer 8

1. Get any type of desired tissue from a plant.
2. Break away the tissues from the plant to create an explant (which is a bundle of cells).
3. The explant needs to be sterilised to prevent communicable disease.
4. A callus forms which is a group of undifferentiated cells which have to undergo mitosis.
5. The cells start to grow shoots and roots when its been given the correct hormones - such as cytokinin and auxins.
6. Leave the plant to grow and overtime it will become identical to the original plant.

Question 9

Artificial twinning/embryo splitting - human intervention

Answer 9

1. Sexual reproduction takes place to make an embryo.
2. An embryo is a group of undifferentiated cells (made by mitosis from a fertilised egg).
3. Individual cells are cut away from the embryo (they are all genetically identical.
4. Chemical signals are given to the cells so that they divide by mitosis to for genetically identical embryos.
5. The embryo is placed in a mother
6. All babies are genetically identical to each other - not their mother.

Question 10

Somatic cell nuclear transfer

Answer 10

1. A somatic cell is any cell that isn’t a gamete and has a nucleus.
2. The nucleus is removed by enucleation.
3. Egg cells are taken from another sheep.
4. The nucleus is removed from the egg cell and is discharged of.
5. Electroporation takes place where electricity increases the permeability of a cell and the nucleus is absorbed into the other cell.
6. An egg with full amounts of DNA which is a ‘fertilised egg’ is ready to undergo mitosis and form an embryo.
7. Host mother is implanted with the new embryo.
8. The offspring are genetically identical to the sheep who donated the body cell not the mother that has to give birth.