The key difference between artificial embryo twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer is that artificial embryo twinning is the technique in which splitting of a fertilized egg into two genetically identical embryos takes place under in vitro conditions while somatic cell nuclear transfer is a technique in which insertion of a somatic cell nucleus into an enucleated egg cell takes place under in vitro conditions.
Molecular cloning is an important technique in producing recombinant organisms with improved characters. Artificial embryo twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer are two such techniques used under in vitro conditions for the purpose of creating clones for both reproductive and therapeutic purposes. However, there is a difference between artificial embryo twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer in terms of their cloning method.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Artificial Embryo Twinning
3. What is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
4. Similarities Between Artificial Embryo Twinning and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
5. Side by Side Comparison – Artificial Embryo Twinning vs Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Artificial Embryo Twinning?
Artificial embryo twinning is the technique of creating identical twins in an artificial manner. This process mimics the natural process of twinning. Dividing of the fertilized egg into two separate embryos takes place during this process. These two embryos grow into two separate fetuses. Since the two embryos originated from the same fertilized egg, the resultant offspring are genetically identical.
Artificial embryo twinning takes place under in vitro conditions. Thus, it differs from the natural process of twinning. At the beginning of the process, it is necessary to remove the fertilized egg first. Then, it should be divided into two embryos manually. Upon splitting of the embryos, the implantation of the embryos into a surrogate mother takes place. The mother then carries the development stages of twins until the delivery takes place. In addition to producing genetically identical twins, this method can also be utilized for the cloning of organs from human embryonic cells.
What is Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer?
Somatic cell nuclear transfer or SCNT is a technique that utilizes the process of inserting a somatic cell nucleus to an enucleated egg cell. Upon insertion to the egg cell, the egg develops to the blastocyst stage, and then the cells undergo cultivation in a culture medium. Somatic cells are non- germ cell such as skin cell, fat cell, and liver cell while enucleated egg cell is an egg cell devoid of its nucleus (empty ovum).
Somatic cell nuclear transfer is also an in vitro technique, where the insertion of the somatic nucleus into empty ovum takes place in the laboratory. Upon maturation of the cell, the cell should be inserted into a surrogate mother and allowed to develop.
Figure 02: Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
The most promising application of SCNP is the ability to form recombinant organisms with positive characters such as disease resistance, temperature resistance and the ability to produce various beneficial compounds such as proteins or enzymes, etc. Not only that, SCNT has become a focus of study in stem cell research. It is also a popular method used in animal cloning.
What are the Similarities Between Artificial Embryonic Twinning and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer?
- They are cloning techniques, so both techniques result in an exact genetic copy or a clone.
- Both take place under in vitro
- These techniques require a surrogate mother for implantation.
- Both can give rise to genetically recombinant organisms.
What is the Difference Between Artificial Embryonic Twinning and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer?
Artificial embryonic twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer differ primarily from the technique that they follow for cloning. Artificial embryonic twinning refers to the process of splitting a fertilized egg into two embryos under in vitro conditions in order to make identical twins. In contrast, somatic cell nuclear transfer refers to the process of inserting a somatic cell nucleus into an enucleated egg cell under in vitro condition in order to make a recombinant organism with favoured traits. Thus, this is the key difference between artificial embryo twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Furthermore, artificial embryonic twinning mimics the natural twinning process while somatic cell nuclear transfer technique does not mimic any natural process.
The below infographic summarizes the difference between artificial embryonic twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Summary – Artificial Embryonic Twinning vs Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Artificial embryonic twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer are two techniques used for cloning. Artificial embryonic twinning refers to the process of splitting a fertilized egg under in vitro conditions to produce two embryos with identical genetic composition. In contrast, somatic cell nuclear transfer refers to the technique of inserting a somatic nucleus to the enucleated egg cell in order to introduce new characteristics to organisms. Most importantly, artificial embryo twinning mimics the natural process that creates identical twins. This summarizes the difference between artificial embryo twinning and somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Reference:
1.“Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Aug. 2019, Available here.
2. “What Is Cloning”, Learn Genetics, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Cloning diagram english” – converted to SVG by Belkorin, modified and translated by Wikibob – derived from image drawn by / de: Quelle: Zeichner: Schorschski / Dr. Jürgen Groth, with text translated (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia