6.2.6

Cloning

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Cloning

Clones are genetically identical individuals (copies), produced naturally by asexual reproduction. However, clones can also be made artificially. We can clone:

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Plants

  • Plants can be cloned using cuttings or tissue culture.
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Animals

  • Animals can be cloned using embryo transplants and adult cell cloning.

Cloning Plants

Plants can be cloned in two main ways:

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Cuttings

  • Good parent plants are used by gardeners as a source of cuttings.
  • To take a cutting, a branch is cut off from the parent plant. Hormones are then used to encourage the roots to grow and the cutting is then planted.
  • Planting cuttings produce clones of the parent plant.
  • This allows a large number of plants with favourable characteristics to be produced quickly and cheaply.
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Tissue culture

  • Small groups of cells are extracted (taken) from a plant and placed in a growth medium (such as a petri dish with plant food in).
  • Division of these cells will eventually result in the formation of a clone of the parent plant.
  • The advantages of this technique are that it is quick, space-efficient and time-independent.
  • This technique is important for commercial use in nurseries and the preservation of rare species.

Jump to other topics

1Cell Biology

2Organisation

2.1Principles of Organisation

2.2Enzymes

2.3Circulatory System

2.4Non-Communicable Diseases

2.5Plant Tissues, Organs & Systems

3Infection & Response

4Bioenergetics

5Homeostasis & Response

6Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

7Ecology

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