Cloning

Question 1

how can you clone plants?

Answer 1

MICROPROPAGATION- explants grown ‘in vitro’ (in a petri dish with nutrient medium)

Question 2

Benefit of micropropagation?

Answer 2

commercial quantities of identical plants with desirable characteristics can be produced.

Question 3

what are the stages of cloning mammals?

Answer 3

1. the nucleus of a sheep’s egg cell was removed, creating an enucleated cell.
2. a diploid nucleus was inserted in its place. this was a nucleus from a mature udder cell of a DIFFERENT sheep.
3. the cell was stimulated by electric shock so it started dividing my mitosis, as if it was a normal fertilised egg.
4. the dividing cell was implanted into the uterus of another sheep to develop until it was ready to be born.

Question 4

how can cloned transgenic animals be used to produce human proteins?

Answer 4

1. cows and sheep make proteins naturally in their milk. by transferring human genes into the cells of these animals, researchers have been able to get them to produce useful human proteins in their milk.
2. for example they can produce human antibodies that can be used in therapy for illnesses.
3. transgenic chickens have been engineered to produce human proteins in egg white.
4. these transgenic animals can then be cloned so that the useful genetic characteristic is definitely passed on.