Advantages/Disadvantages of Cloning and Genetic Engineering Flashcards
Advantages of Cloning
No mating risks, All offspring have desired gene (predictable), Increased price of organism.
Disadvantages of Cloning
May be less healthy or have shorter lifespan, Descreased genetic diversity and genepool, All susceptible to same disease or environmental change, Expensive and labour intensive, Cloning success rate is poor.
Advantages of Genetic Engineering Plants
Save endangered species, Crops mature at same time (uniform plants), Quick, Can reproduce infertile plants, Reproduce plants that are hard to grow from seed, Production not determined by season/climate
Disadvantages of Genetic Engineering Plants
Expensive and labour intensive, Process can fail due to contamination, Susceptible to same disease/environmental change, Decreased genetic diversity and gene pool, Pesticide resistant genes pass to weeds making resistant.
Advantages of Genetic Engineering Animals
Desired genes, Xenotransplantation for humans.
Disadvantages of Genetic Engineering Animals
Transfer animal dieases to humans, Against religions/vegetarians, May have adverse side effects.
Benefits of Golden Rice
Reduces vitamin A deficiency where rice is staple diet, Reduces blindness.
Concerns of Golden Rice
Reduces genetic diversity, All susceptible to same disease, Spread genes to wild populations, Seeds expensive, Rice may not grow where needed, Antibiotic resistance gene could transfer to pathogenic bacteria.
Benefits of Gene Therapy
Leads to better quality of life by treating recessive diseases e.g cystic fibrosis, Extends lifespan.
Concerns of Gene Therapy
Virus vector may cause viral disease, Procedure can be invasive, Limited success so needs to be repeated, Immune system could reject, Antibiotic resistance gene could transfer to pathogenic bacteria, Germ line passes to offspring.
Benefits of Genetic Engineering of Microbes
Produces useful products like insulin.
Concerns Genetic Engineering of Microbes
Antibiotic resistance passes to pathogenic bacteria,
