For centuries, cloning techniques have been used by different companies in the agriculture and research sectors. Organisms like lower invertebrates can also be cloned. For example, when an earthworm is divided into two halves, each half can be grown into identical organisms. But what is the future of this cloning technology?
How Cloning Is Done?
Fertilization generally begins with the union of the eggs and the sperm. The unfertilized eggs can be stopped in the middle of the cell-division stages. The activation stimulus is provided by the sperms that help in completing the cell division. When the nuclear membrane dissolves and the chromosomes start recondensing, the fertilized eggs divide into two identical cells.
Fertilization takes place after the replacement of the genetic material of the female unfertilized eggs with the nucleus. The epithelial cells are ruptured into glass micro needles for producing identical cells.
Nuclear Transplantation in Mammals
When the genetic material is taken out from the eggs which contain recipient cells and then replaced with a nucleus of the donor cells, nuclear transplantation takes place in mammals. The embryo can then be transferred to the surrogate mother where the clones remain identical to the donors.
Conservation of Genomes
When you are visiting MyBioSource.com, you can obtain some clear concepts about the conservation of genomes. A full complement of the genes is required for the donor cells to attain a successful cloning process.
Gene Reprogramming
The pattern of the embryonic cells is very different from the adult cells. The number of genes that can be expressed within the embryos after 5 hours of fertilization will not match the adult or the larva cells. On the other hand, some genes are expressed within the adult cells and not in the embryos. The process of imprinting genes is therefore important for normal development. During sperm and egg formation, the imprinting process is reversed instead of fertilization.
The inactive X chromosomes are also focused on reprogramming techniques. During the development of female mammals, one of the chromosomes is activated within the tissue for contributing to the fetus. But the embryonic tissue which contributes to the placenta, the chromosome remains inactive in this case.
New Tissues Instead Of Old Ones
When the damaged tissues cannot be recovered or repaired with medications and other drugs, artificial replacements can take place. In many cases, the tissues and organs are replaced by healthy persons. The transplantation works are successful for the organs like hearts, kidneys, and many others. The disadvantage of this treatment is that the number of donors is very limited in these cases. For this, an alternate option has been researched where the stem cells are renewed for providing improvement in different cell types.
Conclusion
Cloning involves different ethics and legality and you need to study them well before going forward. Therapeutic cloning is important in the health industry where various diseases are treated and new lives are generated. With gene modification and the cloning process, many scientists are providing different solutions and alternative options for the transplantation and modification of genes and stem cells.
