Biotech and cloning

Question 1

what is biotechnology ?

Answer 1

the industrial use of living organisms (usually microorganisms) to produce food,drugs and other products

Question 2

why are microorganisms usually used for biotech ?

Answer 2

• ideal growth conditions easily created
• grow rapidly, so products are made quickly
• can be grown on inexpensive materials
• can be grown any time of year

Question 3

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of beer

Answer 3

yeast is added and anaerobically respires to produce ethanol and CO2 (fermentation)

Question 4

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of bread

Answer 4

yeast respires, producing CO2, causing bread to rise

Question 5

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of cheese

Answer 5

• chymosin (enzyme for clotting) obtained from genetically modified yeast
• lactic acid bacteria also used to convert lactose to lactic acid

Question 6

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of yogurt

Answer 6

lactic acid bacteria

Question 7

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of penicillin

Answer 7

certain fungi produce penicillin in times of stress to stop bacteria competing

Question 8

what is the role of microorganisms in the making of insulin

Answer 8

• made by genetically modified bacteria with gene inserted

Question 9

what is the role of microorganisms in bioremediation ?

Answer 9

• bacteria given nutrients to grow

- they break down pollutants into less harmful products

Question 10

what are the advantages of microorganisms producing food ?

Answer 10

• can grow using waste (can be used to get rid of waste)
• low production cost, quick and easy
• can be cultured anywhere (could help with malnutrition in certain countries)
• healthier alternative

Question 11

what are the disadvantages of microorganisms producing food ?

Answer 11

• a lot of care needed for preventing contamination
• people don’t like idea of grown on waste
• not same texture/flavor as meat
• high levels of uric acid may occur

Question 12

define culture

Answer 12

a population of one type of microorganism thats been grown in controlled conditions

Question 13

what are cultures grown in ?

Answer 13

fermentation vessels

Question 14

what are the factors for culture growth ?

Answer 14

pH, temp, access to nutrients, vol of oxygen, vessel kept sterile

Question 15

what is a closed culture ?

Answer 15

growth of culture is isolated from outside of vessel (no nutrients added…)

Question 16

state the 4 stages of a closed culture

Answer 16

1. lag phase
2. exponential (log) phase
3. stationary phase (poisonous waste builds up)
4. decline (death) phase

Question 17

define cloning

Answer 17

production of genetically identical cells / organisms from cells of an existing organism

Question 18

define vegetative propagation

Answer 18

production of plant clones from non-reproductive tissue (roots…)

Question 19

outline the process of cloning plants from cuttings

Answer 19

1. take cutting from parent plant
2. dip in rooting powder
3. plant in pot containing suitable growth medium
4. use propagator to create warm and moist environment
5. plant elsewhere when strong enough / roots formed

Question 20

outline the process of tissue culture

Answer 20

1. meristematic cells taken from original plant
2. cells are sterilized to kill micro org.
3. cells placed on culture medium w/ plant nutrients and growth hormones
4. callus forms
5. plant is planted in soil when big enough

Question 21

what is micro propagation ?

Answer 21

• method of producing lots of cloned plants fast

- same as tissue culture but callus is split to form many plants

Question 22

state the 4 arguments for tissue culture

Answer 22

1. desirable characteristics always passed on
2. can be reproduced any season
3. less space required
4. plants produced a lot faster than growing from seeds

Question 23

state the 4 arguments against tissue culture

Answer 23

1. undesirable characteristics always passed on
2. no genetic variation
3. high production cost
4. contamination by micro org. can result in complete loss of plants being cultured

Question 24

outline the process of artificial embryo twinning

Answer 24

1. egg cell is extracted from female and fertilized in petri dish
2. cell left to divide to form embryo
3. individual cells separated and put into their own dish
4. cells divide to form embryo
5. each embryo placed into surrogate mother to develop

Question 25

what is an oocyte ?

Answer 25

immature egg cell

Question 26

outline the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer

Answer 26

1. nucleus extracted from somatic cell 2. nucleus removed from an oocyte 3. nucleus inserted into enucleated oocyte and fuses 4. electrical current stimulates cell division to form embryo 5. embryo implanted into surrogate mother

Question 27

state the 5 uses for animal cloning

Answer 27

1. research (test drugs on identical organisms) 2. save endangered animals from extinction 3. agriculture (increase no. of animals with desire. charact. ) 4. clone genetically modified animals 5. harvest embryonic stem cells (e.g. to replace damaged tissue)

Question 28

what are the 5 arguments for animal cloning ?

Answer 28

1. desire charact. always passed on 2. infertile organisms can be reproduced 3. increase endangered species population 4. animals can be cloned any time 5. can help develop new treatments

Question 29

what are the 3 arguments against animal cloning ?

Answer 29

1. difficult / time consuming / expensive 2. no genetic variation 3. some see using human embryos for stem cells in destroying human lives

Question 30

outline the simple way to culture microorganisms

Answer 30

1. agar plate set up (petri dish + agar jelly) 2. micro orgs. transferred onto plate w/ sterile inoculation loop 3. incubate plates 4. nutrients can be added to improve growing conditions

Question 31

state some aseptic techniques

Answer 31

- regularly disinfect work surfaces - sterilise equipment (pass through bunsen burner) - work w/ bunsen burner near (hot air rises so air micro orgs. drawn away) - minimise time agar plate is open

Question 32

outline process of investigating effect of temp on bacteria growth

Answer 32

1. add set vol of bacteria broth to 6 agar plates and spread across surface 2. put lid on and tape shut 3. place 3 in fridge and 3 in 25 degrees incubator 4. put control in each temp as well 5. after amount of time, count no. of colonies on each plate 6. calculate mean for each temp

Question 33

what are immobilised enzymes ?

Answer 33

enzymes attached to an insoluble material so they can't be mixed with the products

Question 34

state the three ways enzymes can be immobilised

Answer 34

1 - encapsulated in alginate (jelly) beads which act as partially permeable membrane 2 - trapped in silica gel matrix 3 - covalently bonded to cellulose / collagen fibres

Question 35

why are immobilised enzymes useful for industry ?

Answer 35

- substrate solution passes through column of enzymes - enzymes catalyse - reaction solution flowing out only contains product (no enzyme)

Question 36

state the advantages of using immobilised enzymes in industry

Answer 36

- columns of enzymes can be reused - product isn't mixed w/ enzymes - immobilised enzymes more stable than normal (less likely to denature)

Question 37

state the disadvantages of using immobilised enzymes in industry

Answer 37

- extra expensive equipment needed - immobilised enzymes more expensive - may be reduction in enzyme activity as can't freely mix w/ substrate

Question 38

state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding lactose

Answer 38

- immobilised lactase used to break down lactose to glucose and galactose (hydrolysis) - allows for lactose-free dairy products

Question 39

state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding penicillins

Answer 39

- immobilised penicillin acyclase enzymes used in production of semi-synthetic penicillin - allows for penicillin against resistant bacteria

Question 40

state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding glucose

Answer 40

- dextrins (carbohydrate products) broken down to glucose by immobilised enzyme glucoamylase

Question 41

state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding fructose

Answer 41

Immobilised glucose imsomerase converts glucose to fructose

Question 42

state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding amino acids

Answer 42

immobilised enzyme aminoacyclase used for industrial production of pure L-amino acid samples