field of epigenetics; whether cells from a cloned aged organism really do produce cells with an entirely rejuvenated nucleus in the clone. To date, dogs have been cloned with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), using donor cells derived from only large-breed, young dogs (usually 2 months to 3 years of age). These clones developed from an embryo indicating that transplantation of the nucleus from the large-breed dogs did cause rejuvenation of the nucleus in the clone. The extent to which the nucleus is rejuvenated in clones is still not properly understood and scientists are unsure whether clones age prematurely, perhaps as a result of incomplete rejuvenation of the donor nucleus. A new cloning technique furthers study into this area by posing the question of whether the donor's age has any effect on rejuvenation of the nucleus of the donor cell.
The new cloning technique (discovered by Korean Professor Lee Byun-Chun in 2006) produced the toy poodle featured and involved use of former method SCNT but with the donor of the somatic cells (in the diagram this is represented by the top sheep) being an aged (14 years), small-breed poodle rather than a young large breed animal as used previously. Successful production of the clone using this method perhaps indicates that age of the donor nucleus has no effect on rejuvenation of the nucleus in the clone.
However the question of whether the clone will age prematurely as a result of having an aged donor nucleus is yet to be determined.
They say you’re only young once-was this poodle?
By Ayrial Mammino
Primary Source:
Jang. G., Hong. S.G., Oh. H.J., Kim. M.K., Park. J.E., Kim. H.J., Kim. D.Y. and Lee. B.C., 2007, A cloned toy poodle produced from somatic cells derived from an aged female dog, Theriology, vol 69, pp. 556-563.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.11.002
Secondary Sources:
Wilmut. I., Beaujean, N., de Sousa, P.A., Dinnyes, A., King, T.J., Paterson, L.A., Wells, D.N. and Young, L.E., 2002, Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, Nature, vol. 419, pp. 583-587.
Available at:: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6907/full/nature01079.html
‘Seoul Lab Clones Poodle’, 2007, Bio-Medicine. Available at:
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Seoul-Lab-Clones-Poodle-17725-1/
‘Poodle Cloned in South Korea’, 24/01/2007, Clone Age. Available at:
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Poodle_Cloned_In_South_Korea_999.html
Other information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_cell_nuclear_transfer -more information on Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
http://misspoh.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/poodle-dog-bg.jpg -source of picture of clone
http://www.biotechnologyonline.gov.au/popups/img_scnt.cfm -more information on Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer-diagram sourced from this site
http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/plus/sfg/resources/res_epigenetics.dtl -more information on epigenetics
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