How Hard Or Practical Would It Be To Create A Species Of Clones That Reproduce Clones...

[Spacescifi]

Scifi Scenario: An intelligent scifi species is in the business of desigining and creating other sapient species.

How hard or practical would it be to create a race of humanoids who are clones and ALSO reproduce clones? Male and female clones.

How society handle tracking people if they all look the same with identical DNA?

Perhaps they would start branding them or requiring they wear clothes with ID info on it at all times.

After all that is how animals do it, one fly from another or one dog from from another of the same species or breed looks much the same, but dogs distinguish by smelling each dog's particular "ID".

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

 

[KSK]

It would be difficult to set up and very difficult to maintain.

Any real geneticists please feel free to speak up in case I'm talking from under my hat here but, at the least, I think you would need:

1. To ensure that your male clone possesses an identical X chromosome to your female clone and that both X chromosomes in your female clones are identical. 
2. To ensure that neither clone possesses any recessive alleles, to avoid double recessives in their offspring.

The first isn't too hard, at least in principle. Somatic nuclear transfer (transfer of somatic cell nucleus into an de-nucleated egg cell) is a known technique which was used to clone Dolly the Sheep.  I can imagine a more finely grained version which transfers single chromosomes although I don't have a clue about the practicalities.

The second is a lot harder (I think) and would likely require extensive, and quite sophisticated, genetic engineering. Possible in principle using CRISPR or something similar but very hard (to put it mildly) in practice.

The main problem is that even if you could set up a true-breeding population of clones, they and their offspring will inevitably accumulate mutations so, absent heroic efforts to remove those mutations, they are unlikely to remain true-breeding for many generations. 

According to Wikipedia:  The human germline mutation rate is approximately 0.5×10⁻⁹ per base pair per year. That's an astonishingly low rate but even so, each individual in your clone population will be picking up one or two mutations per year and it's vanishingly unlikely that each person will pick up the same mutations.

Edited May 14, 2023 by KSK

[kerbiloid]

No prblem. The classics.

Spoiler

Also, various code options.

Spoiler

Tattoo for the light-colored skin.

 

Scarring for the dark-colored skin.

 

 

Also, the face recognition system used in Moscow can distinguish twins (not only joint ones) long ago.

https://3dnews-ru.translate.goog/977267/v-moskve-predstavili-neyroset-raspoznayushchuyu-bliznetsov?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ru&_x_tr_pto=wapp