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Module Six: Genetic Change > Genetic Technologies > Flashcards

Genetic Technologies Flashcards

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1
Q

What is recombinant DNA technology?

A

a segment of DNA that is generated by combining genetic material from at least two different species.

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2
Q

What is recombinant DNA?

A

DNA that has been formed artificially by combining constituents from different organisms.

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3
Q

What is the purpose of recombinant DNA technology?

A

to implant a gene from one species into the genome of another.

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4
Q

What is the process of recombinant DNA technology?

A

1) The required gene is located from a cell
2) a piece of plasmid is removed from bacteria
3) two pieces of DNA are cut using the same restriction enzyme
4) The fragments produced have matching sticky ends
5) The bacterial plasmid is cut at two points using the same restriction enzyme.
6) As the sticky ends and the plasmid come together, they can join via base pairing.
7) DNA fragments are joined by an enzyme ligase.
8) The plasmid is inserted back into a bacterial cell, where multiple copes of the gene can be produced.

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5
Q

How does recombinant DNA technology benefit science?

A

Due to locating specific genes being extremely difficult, RDNAT can be used to extract a single gene or DNA segment, examine its transcripts, change it in highly specific ways, and then reintroduce the altered sequence into a living organism.

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6
Q

What are some examples of recombinant DNA technologies?

A

cloning, DNA sequencing, gene therapy, and protein manufacture.

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7
Q

What is a transgenic species?

A

A transgenic species is a species which has been created by taking a gene from one organism and inserting it into the DNA of another species.

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8
Q

How have transgenic organisms been utilised?

A
  • to show that oncogenes can cause cancer
  • that DNA is the molecule that contains genetic code
  • to better understand processes like metabolism and blood cell formation
  • to model human disease and create treatments
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9
Q

What is golden rice?

A

A transgenic crop which has been modified to contain beta-carotene, a precursor for vitamin A.

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10
Q

How was golden rice made?

A

Using bacterial transfer, the gene were initally inserted into the rice embryo. All three genes were present in this DNAL lycopene beta-cyclase - an enzyme that plays a significant role in the biosynthesis of beta-carotene - including genes from daffodils and bacteria. The embryos were then grown, chosen, and examined for beta-carotene.

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11
Q

Who began the cultivation of Golden Rice?

A

German scientist Ingo Potrykus.

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12
Q

What is an example of a medical transgenic organism?

A

Insulin producing bacteria - recombinant human insulin being produced using E. Coli and Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.

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13
Q

What is the process of making insulin producing bacteria?

A

1) scientists build the human insulin gene inside a lab
2) Two bacterial strains are created: one carrying the synthetic gene for A-chain and the other carrying the gene for B-chain.
3) The human insulin is inserted into a plasmid which is then returned to the bacteria
4) Inside the bacteria insulin chains are produced as a tail on a larger precursor protein, the enzyme beta-galactosidase.
5) The insulin chains are cleaved using cyanogen bromide in vitro.
6) After purification, the separate A and B chains are chemically combined to form complete, biologically active insulin.

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14
Q

What is gene cloning

A

A technique in which identical copies of a singular gene are made.

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15
Q

What is the process of gene cloning?

A

1) The DNA segment or gene to be cloned is identified and extracted
2) The isolated gene is inserted into a cloning vector, usually a plasmid.
3) Both the plasmid and gene are cut using restriction enzymes, creating compatible sticky ends
4) The gene is then ligated into the plasmid using an enzymes called DNA ligase, forming recombinant DNA
5) The recombinant DNA in introduced into a host cell (transformation)
6) The host cell takes up the plasmid DNA and begins to replicate it
7) As the bacteria multiply, they produce many copies of the recombinant plasmid - many copies of the inserted gene.

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16
Q

What is another way to clone genes?

A

Polymerase chain reactions (PCR)

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17
Q

What is the process of PCR?

A

PCR occurs in three steps:
1) Denaturing (95) - the DNA is denatured and the double strand is broken down
2) Annealing (50-65) - the primers attach to their complementary ends of the template strand.
3) Extension (72) - the cloned strand is synthesised using a Taq polymerase and excess nucleotides.

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18
Q

What are some benefits of gene cloning in medicine?

A
  • Facilitates the development of vaccines
  • Permits the synthesis of recombinant proteins like growth hormones and insulin
  • Genes can be isolated via map-based cloning
  • Aids in the discovery of disease processes and genetic mechanisms in medicine
  • Functional role in gene therapy
  • Studies have found gene related diseases (cancer and down syndrome)
  • Targeted therapy and tumour suppression
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19
Q

Give an example of gene cloning being beneficial in medicine

A

Gene cloning was used to discover the hemoglobin’s alpha and beta chains, which are connected to thalassaemia and sickle cell disease.

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20
Q

What are some benefits of gene cloning in agriculture?

A
  • Increasing crops characteristics and yields
  • disease tolerance
  • pest resistance
  • Increased nutritional value
  • Bioremediation in environmental research (microorganisms degrading contaminants)
  • Assists in conservation efforts
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21
Q

What are some of the limitations of gene cloning?

A

There are the ethical and moral concerns:
- Is it right to create organisms solely for scientific research or medical purposes?
- Unnatural and playing god
- Issues about autonomy and human rights
Other limitations also include:
- Technical difficulties
- Reduction in biodiversity

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22
Q

What is whole organism cloning?

A

Whole organism cloning refers to the process in which can identical copy of an entire multicellular organism is made.

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23
Q

What are the three main types of whole organism cloning?

A
  • artificial embryo splitting
  • taking cuttings from plants
  • somatic cell nuclear transfer
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24
Q

What is the SCNT process?

A
  • Cell are taken from organism one
  • A unfertilised egg is taken from individual two and enucleated.
  • The empty eggs is injected with the nucleated cells from organism one.
  • After receiving an electrical treatment, the two cells fused or blended to create a fertilised egg.
  • The cell divides during the process of mitosis and experiences normal growth and development.
  • The embryo is placed into the uterus of a third organism and carried to term.
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25
What are the benefits of whole organism cloning?
- Clones made with genetic modifications for medicinal benefits. - Drug and testing trials - Can be used to build the population of endangered or extinct species
26
What is an example of whole organism cloning being successful?
Researchers have developed a genetically modified cow to produce milk which contains human proteins essential for blood clotting
27
What are the limitations of whole organism cloning?
- Cloning produced a population with little genetic variation necessary for survival - Cloned embryos cannot develop into healthy individuals - Success rate for cloning sits around 1-5% - Cloned individuals often experience birth defects (birth and organ size increased) - Cloning is unnatural - Human cloning
28
What are the agricultural benefits of genetic technologies?
- Reduces consequences of climate change - Reduces the depletion of arable land resources - Reduces the need for sustainable food supply
29
How has genetic engineering aided in food production?
Genetic engineering allows for precise and efficient crop improvement. It involves modifying a plants DNA to introduce desirable traits like disease resistance and environmental adaptability.
30
What is an example of genetic technology being used in agriculture (1)?
The development of pest resistant crops. Insect infestations can drastically lower rice harvests, meaning that creating crops with pest resistance is beneficial.
31
What is an example of genetic technology being used in agriculture (2)?
Crops being modified to be disease resistant. Genes that provide immunity or tolerance to various diseases have been inserted into rice through genetic engineering to be disease resistant.
31
What is Bt rice
Bt rice is rice that has a gene from Bacilus thuringiensis which secrets a protein that is poisonous to several pests, but not to humans or beneficial insects.
32
What is an example of genetic technology being used in agriculture (3)
Golden rice
33
What are three benefits of genetic technology used in medicine?
- Gene therapy - pharmacogenomics - CRISPR
34
What is gene therapy?
A process which allows doctors to treat disorders by altering an individual's genetic makeup instead of traditional treatments. It involves adding new copies of a broken gene or replacing a defective or missing gene with a healthy version.
35
What can gene therapy be used for?
To treat both inherited genetic diseases and acquired disorders including leukemia.
36
What is personalised medicine?
A field that uses an individual's genetic profile to guide decisions regarding disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
37
How does genomics play into personalised medicine?
It provides a window into the individual's differences and enabling individual predictions about disease risk. This allows for the selection of the right drug at the right dose for the right person.
38
What does CRISPR stand for?
clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats
39
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
a powerful gene-editing technology that allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism's DA
40
What is CRISPR used for?
To disrupt a specific gene or for a new sequence to be inserted at the exact location needed.
41
Why is CRISPR significant?
It significantly cuts down on the time and cost of creating animal models with certain genomic alterations.
42
What can CRISPR be used for in the future?
To fix known mutations in human disorders including cystic fibrosis. Clinical trials have already begun for an inherited form of blindness.
43
What is an example of genetic technology benefitting the industry (1)
The use of genetically modified soybeans and corn to create biofuel
44
Why is GM corn used to create ethanol?
GM corn is used due to it's efficiency in breaking down cellulose and starch. This method can be used to produce more ethanol, using less energy and water.
45
Why is GM soybeans used to create ethanol?
Due to its high oil composition.
46
Give an example of genetic technology benefitting the industry (2)
Enzymes made using recombinant DNA technology being utilised in food production - mostly dairy and brewing.
47
What is the benefit of using enzymes in the industry?
Recombinant DNA has the advantage of being cloned to create large amounts of an enzyme that is specifically targeted at a given substrate. This type of enzyme is purer than those made using more convential techniques.
48
How do GM microbes and plants benefit the industry?
They have been modified to absorb heavy metals from contaminated locations.
49
What are some genetic technologies that induce genetic change?
selective breeding, artificial insemination, transgenic species, hybridisation, artificial pollination, whole organism cloning, gene cloning, and recombinant DNA technology.
50
What is selective breeding?
The process of pairing individuals with desired traits in order to increase the frequency of those traits in a population.
51
What is the purpose of selective breeding?
To identify and reproduce the genotypes, or genetic constitutions, that give an organism its desired traits.
52
How does selective breeding drive evolution?
Through the inheritance of gene-associated traits, the population's gene frequencies are modified.
53
Give examples of selective breeding being advantageous
- Breeding racing horses to increase the speed - Breeding the Belgian Blue cow to have bulkier meat - Provides insight into inheritance, genetic disease, and genetic diversity
54
What are the benefits for selectively breeding crops?
- Improves harvest quality - Improves the yield of crops
55
Give examples of crops being selectively bred
- Corn has been selectively bred to have more ears and larger kernels. - Cotton and tobacco yields have been enhanced - Flowers have been bred to be more decorative.
56
Give examples of animals being selectively bred
- Pigs, turkeys and other animals have been bred to be more larger, softer and quicker growing. - Dogs and horses have been bred as work animals - Dogs and fish have been bred for aesthetic qualities
57
What is artificial insemination?
The mechanical process of artificially placing a prepared sperm cell either within a woman's cervix (ICI) or within their uterus (IUI).
58
What is ICI?
Intracervical insemination is the process in which a male's sperm cell is inserted into the cervix of a female
59
What is the process of ICI?
Following ovulation a sperm cell is inserted into the female's vagina using a syringe.
60
What is IUI?
Intrauterine insemination
61
What is the process of IUI?
Similar to ICI, however the sperm is inserted directly into the uterus and the sperm is washed of its protein.
62
How does AI induce genetic change?
AI is responsible for inducing genetic change due to the breeders ability to select the best males for breeding. This can lead to the significant improvement of breeding success rates. AI can also introduce new genetics into a population, which also increases genetic diversity.
63
What are the benefits of AI?
- Removes the risk of disease transmitted through contact with infected animals - Allows infertile men or women to have the possibility to have their own children.
64
What is genetic hybridisation?
The process by which two complementary single-stranded DNA and/or RNA molecule join forces to generate a double-stranded molecule.
65
What are some applications of hybridisation?
genetic testing for disorders and mutations, fingerprinting, microbial classification, phylogenetic studies, and tissue localisation.
66
How does hybridisation induce genetic change?
Hybridisation between species allows alleles from different genetic backgrounds to integrate, similar to how sexual reproduction brings disparate sets of alleles together in a similar genetic background.
67
What are the advantages of hybridisation?
It increases genetic diversity and can lead to the development of new, adaptive traits.

Module Six: Genetic Change (4 decks)

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