2011 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2011. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy.

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What do you use (like tools) to make a clone?      David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: I currently investigate the genetics of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (PHSCs) to improve the effectiveness of bone marrow transplantation and to find better ways to use these unique cells for gene replacement therapy. I'm also studying diseases that interfere with the ability of the stem cells to differentiate into red blood cells. If you want to clone a piece of DNA, you need a vector - a piece of DNA that you can insert your fragment in and that will allow the recombinant DNA (vector + insert) to grow in bacteria or yeast. Then you plate out your bugs and analyze individual colonies or clones. If you are talking about cloning organisms, it is harder. Moist cloning involves removing a nucleus from a cell and injecting it into an egg (after removing the egg nucleus). In a few cases, the new nucleus directs the egg to develop into an identical organism or clone. Some people are cloning pets, but researchers are using this technology to understand how the DNA is reorganized during development. Westview High School in CA (9th grade student)

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