Process of Cloning: somatic cell nuclear transfer

There are a few different ways to approaching cloning. The first type we will be describing is the most commonly known, which is “somatic cell nuclear transfer” or “ nuclear transfer” for short. It requires two cells from two different animals. The first cell is extracted from the animal you will be cloning, known as the genetic donor and the cell must be a somatic cell, which is a cell that is not a gamete, germ cell gametocyte or an undifferentiated stem cell and it should contain the complete DNA of the animal it came from. Usually, a vet would perform skin biopsy for the animal to extract the cell from the skin.

The second type of cell needed would be an egg cell, also known as a gamete from a female of the same species, which is called the egg donor. A scientist will then extract the unfertilized egg from the female and discards the nucleus of the egg. The nucleus is the part of the cell, which contains the genetic material of the animal.

The scientist will then insert the somatic cell into the donor egg cell, fusing them together with electricity. The fused egg is further stimulated by the scientist using electricity, which kick starts the process of cell division, where the cell in the egg is divided in two and so on and so forth. This is just like in a normal reproduction, except that the genetic material is solely from one animal and not from a sperm. The activated egg will then be placed in a culture medium, which provides nutrients and other enzymes that are needed for the cell to grow and stay alive. As cellular division continues for a course of several days, a ball of cells is formed, known as a zygote or a blastocyst.

After about a week, a specialist then transfers the zygote to a recipient female of the same species where it will continue to develop as normal in her uterus, as of any birth. After a full term pregnancy, the female will give birth to a baby that is identical to the animal you wanted to clone.