[Comparative embryology and mammalian cloning]

A hypothesis has been advanced that logically combines "contradictory" facts concerning the early mammalian development and shows a natural relationship between the embryos developing from a fertilized ovum and from cells of the inner cell mass of blastocyst. When studying the theoretical questions of cloning, it is necessary to take into consideration the peculiarities of prenatal mammalian ontogenesis, which make themselves evident upon comparison with other animals. The absence of yolk in the mammalian ovum defines sharp differences in the early development between mammals and other Amniota. The whole asynchronic cleavage results in the formation of the morula followed by the blastocyst, which hatches from zona pellucida and is implanted into the uterus tissue. This fact allows us to consider the blastocyst as a mammalian larva, which is fed thanks to maternal organism. It is known that, in the body of a larva (blastocyst), a new embryo develops from some somatic cells. This process is known as a polyembryony, which is typical for the development of some parasitic insects. The polyembryony in turn is a variant of somatic embryogenesis, which is a form of asexual reproduction. Thus, two different embryos, "conceptus" and "embryo proper", have different origin: the first forms by the sexual way and the second, by the asexual. The investigation of the mechanisms of somatic embryogenesis in mammals will help us to find conditions necessary for the full reprograming of donor somatic nuclei and provide the successful development of reconstructed embryos.