Cloning - process and applications Flashcards
What is SCNT?
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, is the transference of a somatic cell nucleus into an enucleated egg cell
What are the stages of SCNT?
- Enucleation - the removal of the nucleus from the donated egg cell
- Extraction - the donated somatic cell’s nucleus is extracted
- Insertion - the somatic cell’s nucleus is inserted into the enucleated egg cell
- development - following insertion, the cell begins to divide and develop into an embryo, which is then implanted into the surrogate mother
What are the possible applications of SCNT?
SCNT is used to clone a variety of living or recently deceased animals including sheep, dogs, and monkeys.
SCNT is also being used to revive extinct species through SCNT
SCNT can also be used for therapeutic cloning, as it can clone particular tissues (organ transplants and skin grafts) through embryonic stem cells which benefits as there is little to no risk of rejection
What are the complications around using SCNT?
- animal suffering
- human cloning
- premature aging
What is embryo splitting?
If an embryo is split during the early stages of embryonic development, each section will develop as an independent embryo
What are the applications of embryo splitting?
Embryo splitting is often conducted in combination with IVF, where scientists can selectively choose eggs and sperm from parents with desirable traits
What are the complications of embryo splitting?
- alteration of embryos
- genetic diversity
- research animals (abuse and mistreatment)
What is Plant Grafting?
the attachment of two individual plant stems together
What are the applications of plant cutting and grafting?
allow for the rapid growth of a desired plant, grafting can help provide plants with cold tolerance, resistance to disease and increased productivity
What are the complications of plant cloning?
Plants are more susceptible to disease
