The first cloned sheep ‘Dolly’ was created through which of these techniques?

The correct option is Somatic cell transfer.

Dolly the sheep, born in 1996, was the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult body cell. The technique used to create her is known as Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), or simply Somatic cell transfer. This process involves transferring the nucleus of a donor somatic cell into an egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed.

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how this technique was carried out:
1. Harvesting the Donor Somatic Cell: Scientists harvested a somatic cell (specifically, an udder cell) from a six-year-old Finn Dorset white sheep. A somatic cell is any biological cell forming the body of an organism, excluding reproductive germ cells.
2. Enucleating the Recipient Egg Cell: An unfertilized egg cell was taken from a Scottish Blackface ewe. The nucleus (which contains the genetic material) of this egg cell was removed to create an enucleated egg cell.
3. Nuclear Transfer and Fusion: The nucleus of the donor somatic cell was introduced into the enucleated egg cell. This was achieved by fusing the donor cell with the empty egg cell using electrical pulses. The electrical current also mimicked natural fertilization, stimulating the cell to begin dividing.
4. Implantation and Birth: Once the fused cell successfully developed into an embryo, it was implanted into the uterus of a surrogate Scottish Blackface ewe. The surrogate mother carried the embryo to term and gave birth to Dolly, who was genetically identical to the Finn Dorset donor sheep.

Thus, the procedure relies on transferring genetic material from a somatic cell, making Somatic cell transfer the correct technique.