Genetic Cloning
Introduction
The world has been changing and developing day by day, and who we are today and who we will become is determined by our previous life forms and anatomy. Technology has no bounds, which is the greatest anonymity in and of itself. We shall observe advanced and modernist technology in our future generation, whether it is linked to cloning or any other living forms.
Gene cloning is a highly regulated procedure that is universally accepted and used in many laboratories throughout the world. However, both reproductive and therapeutic cloning raise serious ethical considerations, especially when it comes to the potential use of these technologies in humans. Cloning is the process of a cell reproducing itself asexually without any genetic alteration or recombination. Cloning is a method for creating perfect genetic duplicates of live organisms. Genes, cells, organs, and even whole animals may all be cloned.
Some clones already exist in nature. Single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, make identical clones of themselves when they reproduce. In humans, identical twins are similar to clones. They have genes that are almost identical. Identical twins are generated when a fertilized egg splits in two. When human cloning was initially proposed, it was considered science fiction. However, technical and scientific advancements have made this a reality in recent decades. While the ethics of human cloning are debatable, the technique has resulted in several promising reproductive and health cures.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, the most fundamental definition of cloning is the generation of an identical genetic replica of an organism, tissue, cell, or gene. Cloning may be done in a variety of ways, depending on what is being cloned. Gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning are the three basic forms of cloning.
What Exactly Is Genetic Cloning?
A clone is a genetically identical copy of a creature found in nature or created in a lab. Asexual reproduction allows bacteria (and certain plants) to generate children that are genetically identical to their parents. Clones can also be made using contemporary genetic technology. There are three types of cloning: gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning is a type of recombinant DNA technique in which a piece of foreign DNA is inserted into a vector that a host cell may duplicate.
Therapeutic cloning is the process of creating patient-matched stem cells for illness treatment. In nature, some clones already exist. When single-celled organisms like bacteria reproduce, they generate identical clones of themselves.
Identical twins are akin to clones in humans. They share nearly identical genes. When a fertilized egg divides in two, identical twins are produced.
In the lab, scientists may also create clones. They frequently clone genes in order to better understand and research them. Researchers take DNA from a living species and place it into a carrier such as bacteria or yeast to clone a gene. A new copy of the gene is created every time the carrier reproduces.
Gene cloning has been extremely useful in basic biological studies. Its importance is in the creation of DNA fragments containing a specific gene, which has resulted in breakthroughs in our understanding of that gene’s structure, function, expression, and regulation.
Types Of Genetic Cloning
There are basically three types of genetic(artificial) cloning:
Gene Cloning: Creating a genetically identical replica of a cell or organism. Cloning occurs often in nature, such as when a cell copies itself asexually without undergoing any genetic alterations or recombination. Bacteria and other prokaryotic organisms (those without a cell nucleus) use binary fission or budding to generate genetically identical replicas of themselves. All cells that undergo mitoses, such as skin cells and cells lining the gastrointestinal system, are clones in eukaryotic creatures (organisms with a cell nucleus), with the exception of gametes (eggs and sperm), which undergo meiosis and genetic recombination.
Therapeutic cloning: Therapeutic cloning is a technique for harvesting stem cells from cloned embryos without ever implanting them in a womb. Therapeutic cloning allows doctors to grow stem cells that are genetically similar to their patients. The stem cells might be induced to develop into any of the human body’s more than 200 cell types. The differentiated cells might then be injected into the patient to replace sick or damaged cells without fear of immune system rejection. These cells might be utilized to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, stroke, and spinal cord damage, among other illnesses.
Reproductive cloning: The implantation of a cloned embryo into a genuine or artificial uterus is known as reproductive cloning. The embryo becomes a fetus, which is subsequently carried to full term. Embryo splitting, in which a single early-stage two-cell embryo is physically separated into two individual cells and subsequently matures as two identical embryos, has been used in reproductive cloning research for more than 40 years.
History Of Cloning
There are two methods for cloning animals. The first is a condition known as embryo twinning. An embryo was first divided in half by scientists. The two pieces are then implanted in the uterus of a mother. Each component of the embryo grows into a distinct animal with the same genes as the other. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is the second approach. All cells that make up an organism that isn’t sperm or egg cells are referred to as somatic cells. The mother’s chromosomes fuse with the father’s during conception since sperm and egg cells only have one pair of chromosomes. On the other hand, somatic cells already have two complete sets of chromosomes. The DNA from an animal’s somatic cell is transferred into an egg cell that has had its nucleus and DNA removed to create a clone. The egg develops into an embryo with the same genes as the donor cell. The embryo is then put into the uterus of an adult female to develop.
Scottish scientists cloned the first mammal, a sheep called Dolly, in 1996. She was created by cloning an adult sheep’s udder cell. Cows, cats, deer, horses, and bunnies have all been cloned since then. However, they have yet to clone a person. This is partly due to the difficulty of creating a viable clone. There may be genetic errors in each try, preventing the clone from living. It took 276 tries for scientists to get Dolly right. Cloning a human being raises ethical considerations as well.
- Animal cloning has been utilized for a number of diverse purposes. Scientists have cloned mice with gene mutations to aid in the research of illnesses that emerge in the animals. Cows and pigs have been cloned in order to generate more milk or meat. Clones can even “resurrect” a recently deceased pet. The first pet cat developed by cloning was a cat named CC (Copy Cat) in 2001. Cloning might one day bring ancient animals like the woolly mammoth and giant panda back to life.
Importance Of Genetic Cloning
One of the most significant advances in the field of recombinant DNA technology has been the process of gene cloning. The first step in cloning a gene is to construct a DNA library or gene library, which is a collection of cloned DNA fragments that include at least one fragment carrying the gene of interest. Cloning genetic material involves inserting a DNA fragment carrying a gene of interest into the pure DNA genome of a self-replicating element, such as a virus or plasmid, and propagating the chimeric DNA molecule in a host organism. During the gene cloning process, certain DNA segments are amplified more than 10-12 times.
Gene cloning is the most widely used kind of cloning. Gene cloning is, at its most basic level, a biological event that occurs in every cell of every creature. It is the process of making a copy of genetic material from an existing strand. This natural response can be replicated in the lab and is useful in a variety of biological studies. Gene cloning has been extremely useful in basic biological studies. Its importance is in the creation of DNA fragments containing a specific gene, which has resulted in breakthroughs in our understanding of that gene’s structure, function, expression, and regulation.
DNA cloning and genetic engineering have made it possible to manufacture practically endless numbers of any of the cell’s proteins, which is one of the most significant contributions they have made to cell biology. Expression vectors are used to generate large quantities of a particular protein in live cells.
Cloning genes may be done to learn more about the gene’s nucleotide sequence. To investigate a gene or compare variants of a gene from different sources, DNA sequencing or restriction enzyme cutting analysis might be employed. Manipulation of a gene is a second motivation.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Cloning
=> Advantages of Genetic cloning:
Infertility a chance: Cloning has a number of advantages, including the ability to reproduce infertile couples and the ability to genetically modify the kid to appeal to other individuals. Somatic cells are obtained from the male’s sperm and inserted into the female’s egg for fertilization during the procedure. When the embryo is ready, it is put into a surrogate mother, who will carry it for 9 months until the baby is born. As a result, cloning may be able to help with reproductive issues. Furthermore, instead of having just one parent’s DNA and traits, the offspring generated will have both parents’ DNA and attributes.
It makes a significant contribution to the replacement of organs: Scientists can utilize genetic cloning to take tiny amounts of cells from a specific organ and use them to produce and harvest fully functional new organs. This is highly advantageous, given a large number of persons on organ donation waiting lists.
It enables the development of prominent personalities: It is possible to recreate historical figures who were important in their day. Cloning might theoretically bring someone like Martin Luther King Jr. or Albert Einstein back to life. This implies that in today’s society, we will be able to have such competent folks to teach and assist people.
A sickness cure: Therapeutic cloning, which begins with the same method as adult DNA cloning, permits a resulting embryo to grow for days before the stem cells are harvested and encouraged to grow into human tissue or whole human organs for transplantation or therapy of specific ailments. The ultimate product would be a portion of nerve tissue, a substitute organ, or a large amount of skin, rather than a human individual.
=> Disadvantages of Genetic cloning:
- New illnesses are predicted to emerge as a result: Cell mutation is one of the genuine possibilities of cloning, which has been linked to the emergence of new and more severe genetic illnesses in people, causing a slew of issues. Many individuals feel that such an occurrence will lead to civilization’s collapse.
- Reduces genetic diversity: Humans’ capacity to live is heavily reliant on gene variety, which is inherited from parents with various sets of genes. One major downside of similar genes is that they diminish our adaptive abilities and capacity, making us more susceptible to sickness. Furthermore, we must remember that the beauty of mankind depends in the diversity of people, which cloning destroys. Not to mention that it would take away the element of surprise and anticipate the outcome.
- May cause organ rejection issues: Cloning can result in cell mutation, which is still a possibility even if the process employs the recipient’s organ’s cells. The cell make-up of the original and duplicated organs may change significantly as a result of this.
- In-Breeding: In-breeding is one of the most unfavorable effects of cloning, as everyone will have the same genotypes and will be able to reproduce among themselves. This signifies that we would perish as a result of this surgery. Cloning research might be “sowing the seeds of our own death,” according to Richard Nicholson of the British Bulletin of Medical Ethics.
- It may result in a further schism: People are already divided these days, whether it’s due to ethnicity, language, or socioeconomic status—discrimination and prejudice are surely there. Now, cloned individuals will feel as though they are not as “human” as persons who are not born via cloning.
Conclusion
- The majority of biological processes that are useful to humans may be improved via genetics. Existing species’ genes thus provide a valuable resource that may be used in genetic modification programs. The creation of gene libraries for animals or plants that are on the verge of extinction may be the only way to save a portion of that resource. Furthermore, the capacity to extract DNA from mummified or fossilized tissue opens the door to obtaining potentially important genes from long-extinct species. Without modern means of in vivo and in vitro genetic manipulation, it would be impossible to isolate such genes and combine them with other genes. Nonetheless, these newer technologies can be used in conjunction with, but not instead of, traditional genetic procedures.
Top 13 Facts About Genetic Cloning
Nuclei from body cells are transplanted into eggs that have had their nucleus removed during animal reproductive cloning.
Gene cloning is the process of making duplicates of genes or DNA fragments. The most prevalent type of cloning done by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute is gene cloning.
Over multiple generations, more than 50 mice are said to have been cloned from a single mouse. Eight calves have apparently been cloned from a cow.
Therapeutic cloning is a procedure in which a patient’s own cells are nucleated to create an oocyte from which immune-compatible cells (particularly stem cells) can be extracted for transplant.
Cloning is the technique of employing biotechnology to create genetically identical creatures.
Asexual reproduction is used by a variety of single-cell and multicellular species to make clones.
Tong Dizhou, a Chinese embryologist, cloned the first fish in 1963, an Asian Carp.
The first organism to be cloned was a sea urchin.
Cloned animals have been demonstrated to suffer health problems, including heart, liver, and brain disorders, as well as larger birth sizes. They also mature more quickly and have immune system problems.
Dolly the sheep only survived to be 6 years old, despite the fact that a sheep’s usual lifespan is 12 years.
The European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits human reproductive cloning.
Northern leopard frogs were cloned in 1952 by Robert Briggs and Thomas King, although the name “clone” wasn’t created until 1963 by biologist JBS Haldane.
Snuppy, the world’s first cloned dog, was born in South Korea in 2005, which went on to create world’s first sniffer clone dog in 2007.
Anushree Singh
Writer
13angle