1. The mitotic division of a progenitor cell to give rise to a population of identical daughter cells or clones.

2. Incorporation of a DNA molecule into a chromosomal site or a cloning vector.

3. Animal cloning: the creation of a whole animal by mitotic divisions from a single diploid somatic cell , typically by the process of nuclear transfer (q.v.). Cloning by nuclear transfer from undifferentiated embryonic cells has been possible for many years, but its widespread application has been hampered by inability to culture embryonic cells from animals other than mice. In 1997, Ian Wilmut and colleagues from Edinburgh showed that it is possible to create a whole animal from a cell taken from differentiated adult tissue, thereby opening up the possibility of widespread animal cloning.