Animal Cloning

How does Embryonic splitting work?

When the embryo reaches the 16 cell stage, splits up which results in wins / triplets / quadruplets

How does Embryonic splitting work in IVF?

It involves fertilising eggs in a petri dish, and then manually splitting the embryos before the 16-cell stage. Each genetically identical embryo is placed into a surrogate mother

What are the Pros in IVF?

• Increase offspring

• Increase genetic contribution from a single desirable trait into the next generation

Define transgenic animals?

Animals with genes from another species inserted into their genome

Define genetically modified organism (GMO)?

An organism whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering

What are the steps of Nuclear Transfer? (AKA SCNT)

1. Remove the nucleus from an unfertilised egg (enucleation)

2. Replace it with a nucleus from an adult somatic cell using a syringe (insertion)

3. Transplant the egg back into a host mother (surrogate)

4. Egg develops into a new individual

a. Genetically identical to the donor of the somatic cell

What are the pros of SCNT?

• Increase species of endangered species

• Could potentially bring back extinct species

How does Therapeutic cloning work?

It uses SCNT to create an embryo with the purpose of harvesting the embryonic stem cells

What are some Biological issues of SCNT?

• Susceptibility to disease: identical genetics means individuals are equally vulnerable

• High failure rate: SCNT is very inefficient having an average of a 3% of working

• Adverse health effects: Many cloned animals experience health effects

  • Parental genetic defects will be passed onto offspring

• Premature ageing: Cloned individuals have shorter telomeres hence the offsprings will have a shorter life span