Summary of the science
Cloning, the creation of an organism that is genetically identical to an existing organism, is a functioning technology but face roadblocks to efficiency. Cloning requires the duplication of the genetic information of an individual, DNA. Existing cloning technology is able to successfully replicate the sequence of DNA. However, information is also represented in another way (epigenetic modifications) which cloning only partially takes into account. DNA is associated with proteins that are used to package it tightly, and these proteins have 'marks' known as epigenetic modifications. These need to also be replicated and the Zhang Lab aims to understand how we can correctly do so.
About the research
The Zhang Lab is concerned with understanding how epigenetic modifications play a role in disease and for other applications, mainly focusing on DNA methylation and covalent histone modifications. One area of research they have worked on recently is in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) reprogramming. SCNT is the process used in cloning Dolly the sheep and face several functional obstacles, one of which is the problem of epigenetics. When cells are cloned they are incompletely reprogrammed, exhibiting only a portion of the epigenetic modifications they require, resulting in downstream problems with clones. The research produced by the Zhang Lab has contributed to the understanding of epigenetic barriers to SCNT.
About the illustration