| dc.description | Nuclear transfer involves the transplantation of one or more nuclei from a donor cell to a functionally enucleated recipient embryo, creating a genetically identical cloned organism. Embryonic and somatic nuclear transplantation have been successful to varying degrees in amphibians, arthropods, and mammals. Since the early sixties, numerous attempts have been made to produce viable Drosophila by embryonic nuclear transplantation, though none have survived through the larval stages. I have successfully used embryonic nuclear transfer to create viable adult Drosophila clones. Embryonic H2A-GFP tagged donor nuclei were transplanted into fertilized functionally enucleated embryos. Nuclear transplant success rates are comparable to those observed in mammals. I extend the work to show that genomic imprinting associated with a mini-X chromosome is lost in Drosophila melanogaster clones. These individuals represent the first cloned adult Drosophila , which also, to our knowledge, constitute the first cloned insects. Also, I illustrate that the Drosophila White and Garnet proteins colocalize at the endosome membrane. | en_US |
