Question about Genetic Engineering in general

**qazxsw11111** · Nov4-09, 08:01 PM

Hi everyone. I am writing about an essay on genetic engineering and wondering if cloning would come under genetic engineering or modifications. Some sources state it is while some state that it is a separate entity. I personally feel that cloning is not GE/GM, but if it is relevant then my essay would have more points, I suppose.

Anyway, what are your views on this and please state why if you consider cloning as GE/GM.

**Biophreak** · Nov5-09, 08:48 AM

In the colloquial sense of the word 'cloning', one is making an exact genetic copy of the full genome of a parent cell. Some reptiles and plants clone naturally, while in mammals cloning is not found in nature, neither is it beneficial. Genetic engineering techniques are widely used throughout this entirely complex process.

In molecular biology circles, cloning is taken to mean the insertion of specific genes into another host's plasmid in order to clone a specific gene sequence. This is a definitely an example of genetic engineering because you are altering the organism's genetic information.

**zero_kilo** · Nov5-09, 08:56 AM

my question is where would it fall if its not on GE/GM.

so yes for me.

**Monique** · Nov5-09, 09:01 AM

It's in the word: genetic engineering or genetic modification. Cloning for the sole purpose of growing an organism out of a differentiated cell does not involve genetics. With the exception that a donor oocyte is often used from a different origin, so that would mean the mitochondrial material would be mixed in the offspring.

**Moonbear** · Nov5-09, 07:08 PM

As Monique states, cloning is not genetic modification. Cloning is just reproduction.

It maybe used as a tool to produce many organisms containing the exact copy of a genetic modification introduced into one, and therefore researchers who do genetic engineering will also frequently do a lot of cloning, but cloning is not the modification itself.

**pseudophonist** · Nov6-09, 09:34 AM

Depends if your essay's going to speculate on the future of GE, wherein there's almost definitely applications for cloning. (Clone an organism with modifications each time to test out those modifications)