Topic 6 - Cloning

Question 1

What two ways can plants be cloned?

Answer 1

• Tissue culture

- Cuttings (take cutings and use to produce genetically identical copies)

Question 2

How does cloning plants from tissue culture work?

Answer 2

A few plant cells are put in growth medium with hormones and grow into new copies of the parent plant. Can be used to preserve rare plants

Question 3

How can animal clones be made from embryos?

Answer 3

1) Sperm cell are taken from prize bull and egg from prize cow.
2) The sperm are used to artificially fertilise the egg
3) Embryo that develops is split many times to form cloned embryos before cells specialise
4) These are implanted into other cows where genetically identical calves grow

Question 4

How can animal clones be made from adult cells?

Answer 4

1) An unfertilised egg cell is taken and nucleus removed
2) Nucleus then removed from adult body cell and inserted into ‘empty’ egg cell
3) The egg cell is stimulated to divide by electric shock
4) When the embryo is a ball of cells it is implanted into the womb of an adult female growing into a genetically identical copy (clone) of the original adult body cell

Question 5

What are some issues of cloning?

Answer 5

• Reduced gene pool
• Cloned animals may not be as healthy as normal ones
• Some worry humans may be cloned in the future

Question 6

What are some benefits of animal cloning?

Answer 6

• Could be used to help preserve endangered species

- Study if animal clones could lead to better understanding of development of embryo and aeging + age-related disorders