Summary: IUBMB Life, 48: 369­372, 1999
Copyright c° 1999 IUBMB
1521-6543/99 $12.00 + .00
Hypothesis Paper
A Mitochondrial Model for Premature Ageing
of Somatically Cloned Mammals
John F. Allen1
and Carol A. Allen2
1Plant Cell Biology, Lund University, Box 7007, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
2Bl¨uchers Stig 4, S-240 13 Genarp, Sweden
Summary
Cloned sheep have recently been discovered to have an unex-
pectedly advanced biological age. We propose that the explanation
is a simple consequence of inheritance of acquired, free radical­
inducedcellular damagewithsomatic mitochondriathatcontribute
to the mitochondrial population of cloned cells but not to zygotes
produced by fertilization in normal sexual reproduction. Each in-
crement of ageing in cloning experiments is therefore predicted to
be maternally inherited. The hypothesis suggests practical ways of
decreasing the effect. The hypothesis is itself a prediction of the

Source: Allen, John F. - School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London

Collections: Renewable Energy; Biology and Medicine