Although Dolly was only three years old, her chromosomes had the length of a 9-10 year old sheep. Which of the following best describes why this occurred?
A) The cell lines that created Dolly were aged prematurely in the lab
B) Nonhomologous recombination
C) A mutation enhanced the rate of aging
D) Dolly was not a clone
E) The telomeres of the somatic cells that Dolly originated from were shortening

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Telomeres, the protective caps at the end of chromosomes, shorten with each round of cell division. As Dolly was a clone, her somatic cells originated from an adult sheep, meaning they had undergone many rounds of cell division and therefore had shorter telomeres. This premature shortening of telomeres is likely what caused Dolly's chromosomes to have the length of a 9-10 year old sheep despite her only being three years old.

Although Dolly Was Only Three Years Old, Her Chromosomes Had