Cloning

The mitotic division of a progenitor cell to give rise to a population of identical daughter cells or clones. (See Directional cloning, Megabase cloning, Molecular cloning, Subcloning.)

See: gene cloning.

The process of making copies of a specific piece of DNA, usually a gene. When geneticists speak of cloning, they do not mean the process of making genetically identical copies of an entire organism. See also gene

Using specialized DNA technology to produce multiple, exact copies of a single gene or other segment of DNA to obtain enough material for further study. This process, used by researchers in the Human Genome Project, is referred to as cloning DNA. The resulting cloned (copied) collections of DNA molecules are called clone libraries. A second type of cloning exploits the natural process of cell division to make many copies of an entire cell. The genetic makeup of these cloned cells, called a cell line, is identical to the original cell. A third type of cloning produces complete, genetically identical animals such as the famous Scottish sheep, Dolly. See also: cloning vector

The process in which an organism produces one or more genetically alike copies of itself by asexual means. Cloning may occur by propagation of cuttings, as in the case of plants; continual budding, as in the case of hydra; fission, as in the case of bacteria and protozoa; parthenogenic asexual reproduction as in the case of aphids; or somatic cell nuclear transfer, as in the case of higher order animals such as mammals. The term cloning can also be applied to a group of cells undergoing replication by repetitive mitoses (cell divisions). Also see entries for Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning below.

See Clone.