genetic engineering Flashcards
(7 cards)
1
Q
genetic engineering
A
process which involves modifying the genome of an organism by introducing a gene from another organism to give a desired characteristic
2
Q
examples of genetic engineering
A
- plant crops to be resistant to diseases / produce bigger fruits
- bacterial cells to produce useful substances e.g insulin
3
Q
benefits of genetic engineering
A
- create crops with higher levels of nutrients e.g golden rice contains beta-carotene which reduces vitamin A deficiency
- increase yield of food: better food security
- crops can be disease, herbicide and insect resistant
- can grow well despite global warming
- used to model human diseases
4
Q
drawbacks of genetic engineering
A
- effect of eating GM crops on human health not fully explored
- could have a negative impact on wildflowers and insects by spreading new genes
- insects could become resistant to pesticide producing plants
- wild rice could evolve to become golden rice
- could lead to cloning and scientists may take too far
- ethics
- could lead to manipulation of human genes
5
Q
what are GM crops?
A
crops that have had genes cut out and transferred
6
Q
describe the process of making insulin
A
- extract DNA from human cells containing insulin
- use an enzyme to cut the insulin gene out of the DNA
- use the same enzyme to cut bacteria DNA plasmid
- use a different enzyme to stick the human insulin gene into the bacteria plasmid
- the plasmid holding the insulin gene is put into bacteria
- bacteria reproduce and start to make human insulin
7
Q
describe the process of genetic engineering
A
- enzymes used to isolate required gene
- gene inserted into a vector (virus or plasmid)
- vector used to insert the gene into required cells
- genes transferred to cells at an early stage so they develop with desired characteristics
