Biotechnology

Question 1

How can microorganisms be used as a source of food

-using modern b… techniques, large amount of m… can be cultured i… under c… conditions in large v…

Answer 1

-using modern biotechnology techniques, large amount of microorganisms can be cultured industrially under controlled conditions in large vats

Question 2

What is mycoprotein

Answer 2

-fungal biomass is harvested and purified to produce mycoprotein

Question 3

What is mycoprotein used to make

Answer 3

High protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals

Question 4

What fungus is mycoprotein made from

Answer 4

Fusarium

Question 5

How CNS bacteria be engineered to produce human insulin

1. A p… is removed from a b…
2. The i… gene is cut out of a h… chromosome using a r… enzyme
   —>restriction e… recognises s… sequences of D… and cut the DNA at these p…
   —>the c… leaves one of the DNA s… with unpaired b…, a “s…” end
3. The p… is cut o… using the same r… enzyme
   —>also leaving “s…” ends
4. The p… and the human i… gene are mixed t…
5. L… is added, which joins the s… ends together to produce r… DNA
6. The recombinant DNA is i… into a b…
7. The m… bacterium is grown in a v… under controlled c…, ending up with m… of bacteria that produce i…
   —>the insulin can be h… and p… to treat people with d…

Answer 5

1. A plasmid is removed from a bacterium
2. The insulin gene is cut out of a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme
   —>restriction enzymes recognises specific sequences of DNA and cut the DNA at these points
   —>the cut leaves one of the DNA strands with unpaired bases, a “sticky” end
3. The plasmid is cut open using the same restriction enzyme
   —>also leaving “sticky” ends
4. The plasmid and the human insulin gene are mixed together
5. Lipase is added, which joins the sticky ends together to produce recombinant DNA
6. The recombinant DNA is inserted into a bacterium
7. The modified bacterium is grown in a vat under controlled conditions, ending up with millions of bacteria that produce insulin
   —>the insulin can be harvested and purified to treat people with diabetes

Question 6

How can crops be genetically modified

-genetically m… crops can be produced that are r… to p…
—>improving crop y…
-they can be m… to grow better in d… conditions
—>improving crop y…

Answer 6

-genetically modified crops can be produced that are resistant to pests
—>improving crop yields
-they can be modified to grow better in drought conditions
—>improving crop yields

Question 7

Arguments against GM crops

-many argue that people s… as they cannot a… food, not because there isn’t e…
—>argue you need to tackle p.. first
-there are fears that countries may become d… on c… who sell GM s…
-sometimes poor s… is the reason why c… fail, so using G… crops won’t change a…

Answer 7

-many argue that people starve as they cannot afford food, not because there isn’t enough
—>argue you need to tackle poverty first
-there are fears that countries may become dependent on companies who sell GM seeds
-sometimes poor soil is the reason why crops fail, so using GM crops won’t change anything