4.6.2.5 cloning

• What is cloning?

  Making genetically identical organisms
• What are the different ways we can clone plants?

  Tissue cultures and cuttings
• what is a tissue culture?

  using small groups of cells from part of a plant to grow identical new plants
• Why are tissue cultures important?

  for preserving rare plant species or commercially in nurseries
• What are cuttings?

  Taking cuttings from older parent plants and planting them with growth hormones and producing clones quickly
• why are cutting important?

  they are an older, but simple, method used by gardeners to produce many identical new plants from a parent plant
• What are embryo transplants?

  the process of splitting apart cells from a developing animal embryo before they become specialised, then transplanting the identical embryos into host mothers
• what happens in adult cell cloning?

  1. The nucleus is removed from an unfertilised egg cell.
  2. The nucleus from an adult body cell, such as a skin cell, is inserted into the egg cell.
  3. An electric shock stimulates the egg cell to divide to form an embryo.
  4. These embryo cells contain the same genetic information as the adult skin cell.
  5. When the embryo has developed into a ball of cells, it is inserted into the womb of an adult female to continue its development.
• what are the advantages to cloning?

  • Greater understanding of the development of the embryo, ageing and age-related disorders
  • Preserve endangered species
• what are the disadvantages to cloning?

  • A reduced gene pool
  • Cloned animals may not be as healthy as normal ones
  • People worry humans will be cloned in the future - success may follow unsuccessful attempts