What is the application of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Technology?
✓ Correct answer: c) Reproductive cloning of animals
ExplanationSomatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) is a technique used in cloning, where the nucleus of a somatic cell (any cell of the body other than a sperm or egg cell) is transferred into an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed.The SCNT-derived blastocyst used in reproductive cloning is implanted into the uterus of a surrogate mother, where it develops into a foetus and is carried to term.Option (c) is correct: SCNT is used in reproductive cloning of animals .This technique allows the creation of genetically identical animals, such as Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell in 1996. The process involves taking the nucleus from a somatic cell (e.g., skin cell) of an adult animal and transferring it into an enucleated egg cell.The egg, now containing the somatic cell nucleus, begins to divide and develop into an embryo.This embryo can then be implanted into a surrogate mother to produce an offspring that is genetically identical to the donor animal.Fig.: Some classic examples of successful applications of biotechnology 12
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