BRAINCAKEArtificial Twinning
Artificial twinning is a way of producing several genetically identical animals from one embryo. It copies what happens naturally when identical twins form, but it is done deliberately by farmers and breeders, usually with high-value cattle.
The steps are:
1. A cow with desirable traits is treated with hormones so that she releases more eggs than usual (superovulation).
2. The eggs are fertilised, either naturally, by artificial insemination, or by in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
3. The early embryo is removed (flushed out of the uterus if fertilisation happened inside the cow).
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Key terms in this lesson
- totipotent
- Describes a cell that can divide and differentiate into any type of cell needed to form a whole new organism.
- superovulation
- Hormone treatment given to a female animal to stimulate the release of more eggs than usual, used in techniques such as artificial twinning.
More in Cloning and Biotechnology
- Artificial Clones - Cuttings
- Tissue Culture and Micropropagation
- Pros and Cons of Plant Cloning
- Natural Clones in Animals
- Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
- Pros and Cons of Animal Cloning
- Microorganisms in Biotechnology
- Microorganisms in Food Production
All 21 lessons in Cloning and Biotechnology · All OCR A-level Biology topics