Final Lab Sections on Biotechnology Flashcards
(42 cards)
What food called when they are produced from crop plants that have had their genetic makeup altered to produce valuable or desirable traits that would not naturally occur?
Genetically Modified (GM) or Genetically Engineered (GE)
What is the rearrangement of DNA sequences within an organism and/or the methods employed to combine genes from different organisms?
recombinant DNA technology
What are plants/organisms in which DNA from one organism is introduced into and expressed in another organism?
Transgenic organisms
What are some examples of GM plant products?
Roundup Ready soybeans virus resistant papaya corn wheat rice animal feed medicines vaccines fibers
Name 4 potential benefits of genetic modification.
- increased disease resistance
- productivity (biomass)
- hardiness
- feed nutritional value
Why are some opposed to genetically modified crops?
Unknown, unclear and potential risks that are associated with relatively new technologies.
What are we using in lab to test for the presence of transgenes?
Bio-Rad GMO Investigator Kit
What is being used to determine if the isolated DNA from the samples contains specific transgenes?
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
What are the two sequences we are testing for (that are found in about 85% of all transgenic plants)?
- A promotor from the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV 35s)
2. A terminator gene from Agrobacterium tumefaciens called nopaline synthase (NOS)
What is a promoter sequence?
A sequence that is required to initiate or activate transcription of a transgene at a high level in plant cells.
Why are viral promoters desirable to use?
Because they are particularly strong.
What is a terminator sequence?
a sequence that is required to stop, or inactivate, transcription for a specific transgene.
Who invented the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)?
Kary Mullis in 1983
What is the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)?
A process in which a specific DNA region can be copied continuously, or amplified in number of copies, under a particular set of conditions.
How many copies can PCR produce?
After 25 cycles, over 33 million.
After 50 cycles, over 66 million.
Billions of copies of a single DNA sequence within a few hours.
What 5 components are required to make PCR happen?
- Template DNA
- Taq Polymerase
- PCR Buffer
- Nucleotides
- Primers
What is template DNA?
The DNA that you are testing to determine whether or not it contains the sequences in which you are interested.
What is Taq Polymerase?
An enzyme capable of synthesizing new DNA strands, isolated from the heat-loving bacterium Thermus aquaticus.
What is a PCR buffer?
Taq polymerase requires a specific buffer in which it can perform its activity.
What are nucleotides and which ones are we using?
The building blocks of DNA
Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine
What are primers?
Single-stranded DNA molecules that are usually 16-30 nucleotides long and are mechanically synthesized by different companies.
How do primers work?
When attempting to amplify a particular DNA sequence by PCR, individual primers are generated that precisely match with the ends of that sequence.
What is a primer’s function?
Their function in the reaction is to anneal (bind) to the DNA sequences to which they are complimentary and serve as a starting point for the synthesis of new DNA strands by Taq Polymerase.
How many primer sequences are we using?
4: 2 for the promoter and 2 for the terminator.
