BRAINCAKESomatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a method of cloning an adult animal. It was used to make Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first mammal cloned from an adult body cell.
Three animals are involved:
1. Animal A (the one to be cloned) gives a somatic (body) cell, for example an udder cell. Its nucleus is removed.
2. Animal B gives an egg cell (oocyte). The nucleus of the egg is removed, making an enucleated egg.
3. The nucleus from A is put into the enucleated egg. The two are fused using a small electric shock (electrofusion), which also stimulates the cell to start dividing.
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All 21 lessons in Cloning and Biotechnology · All OCR A-level Biology topics