Gurdon's Cloning Experiment

J.B. Gurdon's cloning experiment

Took DNA from the African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis)

Destroyed the eggs from female using UV light for a few seconds. Killed the male albino frog and took DNA from the intestine. Inserted the DNA into the fertilized egg after removing the destroyed female DNA. The reproduction process continued as if nothing happened. All offspring were albino males and had the same appearance.

Interpretations of the experiment:

1.       Nucleus (DNA), not the cytoplasmic part of the cell, regulates development

·         Because all of the cloned frogs resembled the parent that donated the nucleus

2.       Specialized cells contain all the DNA that was present in the original fertilized egg. Moreover, this DNA is not permanently altered so that it becomes non-functional in specialized cells.

·         Because nucleus of specialized intestine cell put into an egg caused it to develop into a complete organism

3.       The cytoplasmic environment restricts how the nucleus DNA functions.

·         Because when the nuclei were put into eggs, they coded for the development of an entire organism; whereas if left in the intestine, they coded only for enzymes needed