Breeding Plans

Cloning


In biology, cloning is used to refer to the process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals. In nature, this can occur whenever organisms like bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning, in biotechnology, is used to refer to processes which create copies of DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cells (cell cloning), or whole organisms.







Wiki says:
Parthenogenesis

Clonal derivation exists in nature in some animal species and is referred to as parthenogenesis (reproduction of an organism by itself without a mate). An example is the "Little Fire Ant" (Wasmannia auropunctata), which is native to Central and South America but has spread throughout many tropical environments.


Reproductive cloning

Reproductive cloning uses "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT) to create animals that are nearly genetically identical. This process entails the transfer of a nucleus from a donor adult cell (somatic cell) to an egg which has no nucleus. If the egg begins to divide normally it is transferred into the uterus of the surrogate mother.

[Not all implantations reult in a full term pregnancy, and the success rate for implanted clones is often far lower than the usual conception rate for embryo transfers. roots]

Such clones are not strictly identical, since the somatic cells may contain mutations in their nuclear DNA. Additionally, the mitochondria in the cytoplasm also contains DNA and during SCNT this DNA is wholly from the donor egg, thus the mitochondrial genome is not precisely the same as that of the nucleus donor cell from which it was produced. This may have important implications for cross-species nuclear transfer in which nuclear-mitochondrial incompatibilities may lead to death.

[Plus this irregualrity could be used to identify some cloned individuals, as their mitochondrial DNA would not match the donor animal, unless the donor and the implanted genes are from the same individual. roots]


Read more about cloning:
Equines || Canines || Felines || Bovines || Reptiles || Avians



Offsite links
Texas A&M is a leader in the field of cloning
Links to some of the six animals cloned by Texas A&M as of 2009