What is the difference between genetic engineering and cloning

Genetic engineering is a complex technique for manipulating genes at the molecular level, in which foreign genes are recombined in vitro and introduced into recipient cells, so that the genes can be replicated, transcribed, translated and expressed in recipient cells. It is a new technology that uses artificial methods to extract the genetic material of a donor organism - DNA macromolecules, cut it with appropriate tool enzymes under in vitro conditions, connect it with the DNA molecule as a carrier, and then introduce it into a recipient cell that is easier to grow and reproduce with the carrier, so that the foreign material can "settle down" in it, carry out normal replication and expression, and obtain a new species.

Cell engineering refers to a comprehensive science and technology that applies the principles and methods of cell biology and molecular biology to change the genetic material in cells or obtain cell products according to people's wishes at the overall level of cells or organelles through certain engineering means. According to different cell types, cell engineering can be divided into two categories: plant cell engineering and animal cell engineering.

Cloning is usually an artificially induced form of asexual reproduction or a natural form of asexual reproduction (e.g., in plants). A clone is a multicellular organism that is genetically identical to another organism. Cloning can be a natural cloning, such as two genetically identical individuals (as in the case of identical twins) resulting from asexual reproduction or by chance.

But what we usually call cloning is an exact copy that is produced by conscious design.

In biology, cloning is usually used in two ways: cloning a gene or cloning a species. Cloning a gene refers to taking a piece of gene from one individual (e.g. by PCR) and inserting it into another individual (usually through a vector) for study or use.

Cloning sometimes refers to the successful identification of a gene of a certain type. So when a biologist says that the gene for a certain disease has been successfully cloned, it means that the location and DNA sequence of the gene have been determined. Obtaining a copy of the gene can be considered a by-product of the identification of the gene.

Cloning an organism means creating a new organism with exactly the same genetic information as the original organism. In the context of modern biology, this often includes somatic cell nuclear transfer. In somatic nuclear transfer, the oocyte nucleus is removed and replaced by a nucleus taken from the cell of the cloned organism, usually from the same species as the oocyte and the nucleus it is transferred to.

Since the nucleus contains almost all the genetic information of life, the host oocyte will develop into an organism that is genetically identical to the nuclear donor. Although mitochondrial DNA is not transplanted here, it is still relatively small, and its impact on the organism can usually be ignored.

Cloning in horticulture refers to the offspring of a single plant produced through vegetative reproduction. Many plants obtain a large number of offspring from a single plant through asexual reproduction such as cloning.

Cloning refers to the asexual reproduction of an organism through somatic cells, as well as a population of offspring individuals formed by asexual reproduction that are identical in genotype. Usually through asexual reproduction, biotechnology is used to produce individuals or populations that have the exact same genes as the original individual.

Genetic engineering is also known as gene splicing technology and DNA recombination technology. The so-called genetic engineering is a complex technology for manipulating genes at the molecular level, which is the operation of introducing foreign genes into recipient cells after recombination in vitro, so that the genes can be replicated, transcribed, translated and expressed in recipient cells.

DNA recombinant techniques in genetic engineering are characterized as molecular cloning or gene cloning.