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  • Essay / Research and Evaluation of Reproductive Cloning of Sumatran Tigers

    Reproductive cloning of Sumatran tigers is carried out using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Firstly, in the process of SCNT, a somatic cell (body) to be cloned is obtained. A somatic cell from a Sumatran tiger is used to make a genetically identical tiger. To do this, somatic cells are taken from the tissues of the Sumatran tiger to be cloned and are maintained in the laboratory in a state that prevents the cells from dividing. The next step in the SCNT process involves removing the nucleus from an unfertilized egg. An egg is taken from a female of the Sumatran tiger species. The nucleus is removed from the egg (enucleated). This is done so that only the Sumatran tiger genome to be cloned is in the egg cell. The clone will not have the genome of the Sumatran tiger from which the egg was taken. The next step is to merge the cells. The enucleated egg is fused with the nucleus of one of the laboratory's somatic cells, taken from the Sumatran tiger to be cloned. These two cells are fused together using an electric shock. The egg cell now contains the Sumatran tiger genome to be cloned, because the genome comes from the somatic cell. The egg is then electrically stimulated to begin dividing until an early embryonic stage is reached. The final step of the SCNT process is embryo implantation. The embryo is implanted into the uterus of a surrogate Sumatran tiger mother, where it grows during the normal gestation period. After this time, the baby is born and the result is a baby Sumatran tiger which is a clone of the Sumatran tiger from which the somatic cell has been removed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Cloning Sumatran tiger species may have biological implications. The advantage of cloning Sumatran tiger species is that the cloned tigers can be used to increase the number of endangered Sumatran tigers. The Sumatran tiger is an endangered species and it is estimated that there are only between 400 and 600 Sumatran tigers left in the wild today. By cloning the Sumatran tiger, the number of Sumatran tigers can be increased, thereby reducing the risk of extinction of the species. Another advantage of cloning Sumatran tiger species is that individuals can be selected for cloning. The most disease-resistant tigers can be cloned so that the Sumatran tiger population grows and increases with the disease-resistant Sumatran tigers. So, if a disease struck the population, its effects would not be as devastating. Once the number of Sumatran tigers is increased through cloning, they can be bred normally to further increase their numbers. Saving a species from extinction preserves the diversity of the global tiger population for the future. Once Sumatran tiger numbers increase and tigers are allowed to interbreed normally, their genetic diversity will increase compared to cloning alone, which reduces genetic diversity. This increased genetic diversity would increase the Sumatran tiger's chances of survival in the wild in the future. Once tiger numbers increase sufficiently, tigers could be reintroduced into the wild to repopulate their natural habitats. Local and foreign visitors would have more opportunities to see these unique tigers in their natural habitat. The disadvantages of Sumatran tiger cloning are that the success rate is very low. Usually, less than 5% of somatic cells used for cloning develop into living fetuses. Among them,..