Expert: Walter Hintz - 9/7/2009

Question

 Hello Walter Hintz. I had a look at your description and it looks like might certainly be able to help with my questions. My questions are quite basic in terms of its topic, which is about cloning. I would like to ask you a few specific but conventional questions on the topic of cloning. I have 10 short and pretty general questions regarding this topic and I am assuming that you won’t need to explain the answers in much detail for these questions.  But please do feel free to leave any question if it seems too difficult for you to provide an answer to. So here goes, first of all does cloning require DNA or samples from both male and female or is it possible to compromise without either for e.g.- if researchers found a DNA sample of a male dinosaur, could they possible clone it without the female sample? Is it even feasible to consider cloning a dinosaur even if they found a DNA sample from such long ago?  How intricate or difficult is it to clone using the DNA? Sorry if I sound a bit naïve but is it also plausible to clone using sperms or is that the same as using DNA samples? Has all or most variety of different species of animals and even fowls been tested for cloning such as bats, lizards, birds, snakes, lion, deer, etc.? Also,  is cloning humans a much more complex and perhaps tedious process compared to animals? What amount of DNA sample would one require in order to clone or does the size of the sample not matter as long as a DNA is extracted from the sample? We are aware that consecutive hybrids has not come to pass yet but cloning or breeding with species with similar aspects could be feasible. So the question is that would it be plausible to clone two species such as a sheep and a horse or chicken and an eagle, etc.? Subsequently there are 2 last short question left. Would it be adequate or consecutive to use 3 DNA or sperm samples instead of two like an odd number for e.g.- 2 male and 1 female, could such a cloning be a success? And lastly what is required in an experiment in the place of a female womb, is it some kind of artificial nutritional bladder? So these are all the questions I have to find the answers to in order to understand the general concept of cloning. And if you would help me conceive it, I shall be very much thankful for your effort. Your help will be much appreciated. Thank you.  

Answer
Hi Matthew
 DNA from both parents is not required but cells from the female are usually used.
 Cloning dinosaurs was suggested in Jurassic park but is not feasible. The cloning process in use today involves nuclear transfer whereby the nucleus of a body cell is taken from the cell and reinserted into an egg cell that has had the nucleus removed. We would need a reptile egg cell. Now assume we have developed a baby T Rex. All organisms depend upon the environment that they inhabit.  The environment of T Rex was completely different then that of today with different fauna and flora. To keep T Rex alive we would also have to clone the plants and animals that made up its environment.
I cannot tell you what living organisms have been researched with respect to cloning.  Most of them have been with mammals.   Keep in mind that to clone a mammal you need not only the cell but once the nucleus has been transferred you must implant it into the uterus of a female.   Their is no substitute for the female uterus.  In Aldous Huxleys book Brave New world humans were developed in bottles but we are along way from that. WE only need a single cell and an egg cell to clone so I am unsure what you mean by using combinations of sperm and egg cells.
Combining species by cloning is not conceivable. You could possibly insert a cloned mammal cell ( say a mouse cell into a rat uterus) as long as it were mechanically possible.  Obviously you could not develop a cloned elephant in a small mammal.
I do not know if I have answered your questions. I not let me know
walter