Cloning & Biotechnology

Question 1

clones

Answer 1

genetically identical organisms or cells

Question 2

vegetative propagation

Answer 2

reproduction from vegetative parts of a plant- usually an over-wintering organ

Question 3

micropropagation

Answer 3

growing large numbers of new plants from meristem tissue taken from a sample plant

Question 4

tissue culture

Answer 4

growing new tissues, organs or plants from certain tissues cut from a sample plant

Question 5

embryo twinning

Answer 5

splitting an embryo to create 2 genetically identical embryos

Question 6

enucleation

Answer 6

removal of the cell nucleus

Question 7

somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)

Answer 7

a technique that involves transferring the nucleus from a somatic cell to an egg cell

Question 8

biotechnology

Answer 8

the use of living organisms/parts of living organisms for industrial processes- to produce food, drugs or other products

Question 9

agar

Answer 9

a polysaccharide of galactose obtained from seaweed which is used to thicken the medium into a gel

Question 10

aseptic technique

Answer 10

sterile techniques used in culturing and manipulating microorganisms

Question 11

closed culture

Answer 11

a culture with no exchange of nutrients or gases with the external environment

Question 12

serial dilution

Answer 12

a sequence of dilutions used to reduce the concentration of a solution or suspension

Question 13

immobilised enzyme

Answer 13

an enzyme that is held in place and not free to diffuse through the solution

Question 14

what process are natural clones produced by

Answer 14

asexual reproduction in which nucleus is divided by mitosis

Question 15

why may naturally cloned cells not be physically/chemically identical

Answer 15

may differentiate to form 2 different types of cell after division

Question 16

advantages of natural clones

Answer 16

conditions good, rapid, only 1 parent needed

Question 17

disadvantages of natural clones

Answer 17

overcrowded offspring, no genetic diversity, little variation, no selection, susceptible to environ. changes

Question 18

why plants are able to reproduce by cloning

Answer 18

many parts of the plant contain cells that retain ability to divide and differentiate into a range of types of cell

Question 19

examples of vegetative propagation

Answer 19

runners/stolens, rhizomes, suckers, bulbs, corms, leaves, tubers

Question 20

identical twins

Answer 20

formed when mammals clone as a zygote divides as normal by the 2 daughter cells then split to become 2 separate cells that develop individually

Question 21

how to encourage cells in growing plant tissue to differentiate

Answer 21

apply plant growth substances to cells on a nutrient medium under sterile conditions at the correct time

Question 22

advantages of artificial cloning in plants

Answer 22

rapid, uniform phenotype –> desirable characteristics, retain unusual combos, easier to grow/harvest, , using meristem as explant ensures virus free

Question 23

disadvantages of artificial cloning in plants

Answer 23

labour intensive, expensive, microbial contamination -> fail, susceptible to same pests/disease

Question 24

totipotent stem cells

Answer 24

can differentiate into any type of adult cell found in the organism in early embryo cells

Question 25

arguments for artificial cloning in animals

Answer 25

preserve rare species, research with identical tissues allows effects of genes/hormones to be seen clearly without genotypes interfering, avoid medicinal animal testing

Question 26

arguments against artificial cloning in animals

Answer 26

excessive genetic uniformity->unlikely to adapt to environ. changes, unknown if remain healthy long term, success rate poor, expensive, animal welfare, ethical issues with destroying embryo

Question 27

metabolism

Answer 27

the sum total of all the chemical reactions that go in in an organism

Question 28

processes in metabolism

Answer 28

new cells, cellular components, chemicals e.g. hormones, enzymes , waste products

Question 29

primary metabolites

Answer 29

substances produced by an organism as part of its normal growth e.g. proteins, enzymes, lactate , production matches the growth in population of the organism

Question 30

secondary metabolites

Answer 30

substances produced by an organism that are not part of its normal growth e.g. antibiotic chemicals , production usually begins after the main growth period

Question 31

why must the air leaving the fermenter be sterilised

Answer 31

bacteria/microbes could be pathogenic due to mutation and spread

Question 32

downstream processing

Answer 32

separation and purification of product from mixture in fermenter (after harvest)

Question 33

advantages of using immobilised enzymes

Answer 33

easy, quick, continuous, renewable, protected from extreme conditions by immobilising matrix e.g. high ph/temp, reduced downstreaming costs

Question 34

disadvantages of using immobilised enzymes

Answer 34

slower production, setting up/materials/time is expensive, less sactive than free enzymes

Question 35

advantages of using microorganisms in biotechnology

Answer 35

production faster with demand, no ethical issues, biomass has high protein content, easily GM, not seasonal, less space needed, grow on waste

Question 36

disadvantages of microorganisms in biotechnology

Answer 36

not eat fungal protein grown on waste, must be isolated in fermenter, needs purification, susceptible to infection, not as palatable as normal protein sources

Question 37

why is asepsis important

Answer 37

nutrient medium also supports growth of unwanted organisms causing competition so reducing production or spoiling product with toxic chemicals -> sterile conditions must be maintained

Question 38

continuous culture

Answer 38

primary metabolites continually released and extracted from fermenting broth (topped up with nutrients as product extracted other too densely populated)

Question 39

batch culture

Answer 39

producing secondary metabolites where culture is set up with limited quantity of nutrients, fermenting for specific time then emptied and extracted

Question 40

growth medium

Answer 40

broth (bottles/tubes) or agar (melted/poured in petri dishes) - contains peptones, yeast extract, salts, water and/or glucose and blood

Question 41

materials microorganisms can grow on

Answer 41

any that provide carbon compounds for respiration and source of nitrogen for protein synthesis

Question 42

liquid medium

Answer 42

a liquid broth that is initially clear but turns cloudy when bacteria grows, useful to increase numbers before transferring to agar

Question 43

why serial dilutions are used to investigate rate of growth of the population of microorganisms

Answer 43

population density must be reduced otherwise there'd be too many colonies merging together, impossible to count

Question 44

how methods are used to immobilise enzymes

Answer 44

by binding them to a surface/simply trapping them so can't enter substrate solution

Question 45

advantages of non-reproductive cloning

Answer 45

genetically identical so won't be rejected by immune system, reduce problems of waiting for donor organs, totipotent so used to generate any cell type and repair damage otherwise can't be repaired, less dangerous

Question 46

aseptic techniques

Answer 46

developed to reduce likelihood of contaminating medium with unwanted bacteria/fungi

Question 47

single-celled fungi grow as...

Answer 47

circular colonies- a mass of hyphae

Question 48

factors that affect growth of microorganisms in a fermenter

Answer 48

temperature, nutrients, oxygen, pH, concentration of product

Question 49

bioremediation

Answer 49

use of microorganisms to clean the soil and underground water on polluted sites

Question 50

advantages of bioremediation

Answer 50

uses natural systems, less labour/equipment, treatment in situ, few waste products, less risk of exposure to clean-up personnel

Question 51

disadvantages of bioremediation

Answer 51

only suitable for certain substances so can't treat heavy metals