Amanda Johnson 5/6/14

Mice Cloned From Blood

Drops
Mice have been cloned from single drops of blood taken from their tails using the same
technology that produced Dolly the sheep.
By Chris Palmer | June 28, 2013

Researchers in Japan have for the first time cloned mice using single white blood
cells from peripheral blood samples. The advance could mean the ability to clone
infertile mice from which healthy eggs or sperm cannot be obtained. The results
were published online Wednesday (June 26) in Biology of Reproduction.
The scientists used somatic-cell nuclear transfer to clone the mice, which had
normal lifespans and were able to produce offspring. The cloning technique involves
replacing the nucleus of an unfertilized egg with the nucleus of an adult somatic
cell, such as a blood or skin cell. The egg is then placed inside a surrogate mother.
A previous version of the process was used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1996, and
has since been used to clone more than a dozen mammal species.
The preferred cell type for somatic-cell nuclear transfer is a cumulus cella
specialized cell that surrounds and nourishes oocytes. The researchers, seeking a
less invasive way to gather somatic cells for the cloning process, tested the
effectiveness of three types of white blood cells collected in blood samples taken
from the mices tails. They found that transferring the nuclei of lymphocytes led to
1.7 percent of embryos developing into viable offspringcompared to 2.7 percent
for cumulus cells. Performing better were the largest white blood cells, the
granulocytes and monocytes, which had a combined 2.1 percent success rate.
According to a statement, the new technique could be used to propagate mouse
strains that cannot produce offspring naturally, or by other assisted-reproduction
strategies.
Previously, somatic-cell nuclear transfer has been used to create viable clones using
lymphocytes from thelymph nodes, bone marrow, and liver.
Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell biologist at the MRC National Institute of Medical
Research in London, toldBBC News that the result was an incremental, but useful,
advance on previous work. The efficiency of cloning from these cell types was very
good, suggesting that even a small drop of blood will contain sufficient numbers,
said Lovell-Badge. This is helpful if the intention is to use cloning to propagate and
expand numbers of rare or valuable types of individual or species.

Amanda Johnson 5/6/14

Summary

This article was about cloning mice using a small amount of white blood cells
from their tails. The scientists involved with this project used somatic-cell nuclear
transfer to clone the mice. This process involves replacing the nucleus of an
unfertilized egg with the nucleus of a somatic cells nucleus. The process that they
used to clone the mice was similar to the process used to clone Dolly the sheep in
1996. This new technique could help assist mice reproduce, when some were
infertile. Overall I think that this article was very interesting and I think it is cool that
they could replicate the methods used to clone Dolly the sheep in mice.

Work Cited

Palmer, Chris. "Mice Cloned from Blood Drops." The Scientist. N.p., 1986. Web. 6
May 2015. <http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/36249/
title/Mice-Cloned-From-Blood-Drops/>.