Where did Dolly the sheep get her nucleus from?

How did her telomere length indicate age? What about her genome? Final answer: Dolly the sheep got her nucleus from a donor sheep and her telomere length indicated her age. Her genome was essentially identical to the donor sheep's genome.

Dolly the sheep's Nucleus Source

Dolly the sheep got her nucleus from a donor sheep. In the process of cloning, the nucleus was removed from a donor egg cell, and then the nucleus from a second sheep was introduced into the cell. This cell was allowed to divide to the blastocyst stage before being implanted in a surrogate mother.

Telomere Length and Age Indication

The telomere length in Dolly's cells indicated her age. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that shorten with each cell division. Since Dolly's cells were derived from an adult sheep, her telomeres were already shorter than that of a newborn lamb, indicating an older age.

Dolly's Genome

Dolly's genome, or her complete set of DNA, derived from the donor sheep. The donor sheep's genome contained all the genetic information that was passed on to Dolly. Therefore, Dolly's genome was essentially identical to the donor sheep's genome.

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