Question

What is Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and what is one concern? (separate definition and concern with a comma)

(a) The process is very efficient and produces a high number of viable embryos.
(b) The regenerated embryo may have epigenetic abnormalities that could lead to health problems.
(c) ESCs derived from cloned embryos are not pluripotent and cannot differentiate into all cell types.
(d) SCNT only works with certain types of somatic cells and cannot be used to clone all animals.

Answer 1

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) refers to the process of placing a somatic cell nucleus into an enucleated egg cell to produce a clone of the donor. A concern with SCNT is potential epigenetic abnormalities in the cloned embryo, possibly causing health issues.

Step-by-step explanation:

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is the technique of transferring a diploid nucleus from a somatic cell into an enucleated egg, resulting in a zygote that is genetically identical to the donor. This can be used for therapeutic cloning, where cells are used in treatments for diseases, or reproductive cloning, to produce a cloned individual. One concern with SCNT is that the regenerated embryo may have epigenetic abnormalities that could lead to health problems, such as improper gene expression and developmental issues.