Molecular Mechanism and Application of Somatic Cell Cloning in Mammals

Dear Colleagues,

Although approximately 25 mammalian species have been cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) so far, the efficiency of somatic cell cloning is still at a disappointingly low level ranging from 0.1% to less than 5% as measured by the percentage of the cloned progeny generated to the number of oocytes reconstructed by SCNT. Therefore, the studies focused on somatic cell cloning require an important milestone to improve the pre- and/or post-implantation capabilities and enhance the molecular quality of cloned mammalian embryos. This finding seems to be a sine qua non condition for increasing the effectiveness of SCNT as assisted reproductive technology (ART) and its potential of wide application to embryological, biotechnological, transgenic and biomedical research.

To sum up, this Special Issue offers/opens the possibility of publishing the articles and reviews aimed at exploring or recognizing a variety of molecular and epigenetic determinants of the SCNT efficacy at the levels of nuclear donor cells, nuclear recipient oocytes and nuclear-transferred embryos. Their broad identification can contribute to amelioration, optimization and implementation of the somatic cell cloning. These latter allow this method to become one of the most important, reliable and feasible ART strategies for the purposes of experimental and applied embryology, biotechnology, ex situ biodiversity preservation, transgenics, biomedicine, biopharmacy and creation of animal models for etiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of human diseases.

Prof. Dr. Marcin Samiec
Prof. Dr. Maria Skrzyszowska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.