Question

Name of the sheep cloned for the first time is ……….
a. Dolly
b. Polly
c. Molly
d. Holly

Answer 1

The first-ever sheep that was cloned from a somatic cell was named after a famous American singer. The cells that were used to clone the sheep were taken from mammary glands. She was cloned by the process of nuclear transfer and had three different mothers. One mother provided the egg, one provided the DNA, and in one the cloned embryo was carried.

Complete answer:
• The name of the first-ever cloned sheep is Dolly. She was named after the famous American singer Dolly Parton. Its original name was 6LL3.
• Born on 5th July 1996, Dolly was the first-ever sheep to be cloned from somatic cells of an adult. So, the donor cell was taken from the mammary glands.
• The cloning of this sheep was done by the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this process, the nucleus of an unfertilized oocyte is removed and the cell is then inserted with the nucleus of another adult cell. This results in a hybrid cell. Once the blastocyst was developed, it was transferred into a surrogate mother sheep. This is how Dolly had three mothers.
• Dolly the sheep became extremely famous and received a lot of attention as she was the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Cloning of Dolly, the sheep showed that the genetic matter of an adult cell is capable of transforming into a totipotent state. This totipotent cell is capable of differentiating into any part of the body.
After a few years, Dolly developed severe arthritis and progressive lung disease. Due to this, she had to be euthanized.