Special Topics: Cloning

Vocabulary and concept flashcards based on the lecture notes on cloning, comparing Artificial Embryo Twinning (AET) and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT).

Gamete

A reproductive cell of an animal or plant (such as sperm or egg) that contains a haploid ($n$) chromosome number and is produced through meiosis.

Somatic Cell

Any body cell of a living organism other than reproductive cells, containing a diploid ($2n$) chromosome number and produced through mitosis.

Zygote

A fertilized egg cell resulting from the union of a female gamete (egg, or ovum) with a male gamete (sperm).

Cloning

The process of producing one individual that is genetically identical to another, using a single cell or tissue.

Biotechnology

The use and modification of organisms for applications in engineering, industry, and medicine.

Artificial Embryo Twinning (AET)

A cloning technology where a very early embryo is separated into individual cells in a Petri dish, allowed to divide and develop, and implanted into a surrogate mother to create genetically identical offspring.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)

A cloning method used to create a clone from an adult organism by injecting DNA from an adult somatic cell into an unfertilized, enucleated egg and implanting it into a surrogate mother.

Diploid ($2n$)

The chromosome number present in somatic cells (body cells), which are produced through mitosis.

Haploid ($n$)

The chromosome number present in gametes (sex cells), which are produced through meiosis.

Enucleated Egg Cell

An unfertilized egg cell that has had its nucleus removed prior to receiving donor somatic cell DNA.

Surrogate Mother

A female organism into whose uterus an embryo is implanted to carry out pregnancy and give birth to offspring.

Genetic Recombination in AET vs. SCNT

In AET, recombination occurs during egg and sperm formation prior to zygote split (sexual reproduction), failing to preserve the adult parent's genotype; in SCNT, no recombination occurs (asexual reproduction) because a diploid somatic nucleus is used, preserving the adult donor's genotype.