Applications Of Recombinant Gene Technologies

Question 1

What is gene therapy?

Answer 1

Treating genetic diseases by adding healthy genes to body cells with mutant genes using vectors (liposomes and viruses)

Question 2

What are the general problems with liposome and viral treatments?

Answer 2

• normal gene could disrupt another gene
• healthy genes may not be expressed
• only effective in diseases caused by one non-functioning gene
• short lived effect
• some viruses may still be able to cause the disease
• repeat treatments may cause an immune response

Question 3

What is germline gene therapy?

Answer 3

Inserting healthy foreign gene into fertilised egg

Question 4

What are the benefits and concerns with germline therapy?

Answer 4

Benefits:
- permanent cure
- passed onto offspring
Concerns:
- alters future generations
- difficult to predict long term effects

Question 5

How are plants transformed/ genetically modified?

Answer 5

• desired gene is inserted into a plasmid
• plasmid transferred into plants cells which divide by mitosis to form mature plants
• all the cells of the mature plant contain the desired gene so, can produce the desired protein

Question 6

What are the benefits of genetically modified plants?

Answer 6

• higher yields of food crops
• increased resistance to pests
• higher nutrient levels
• able to be grown in harsher environments

Question 7

What the concerns with genetically modified plants?

Answer 7

• pollination may spread around foreign genes to weeds, forming super weeds that are difficult to control so reduce biodiversity
• pesticides produced as a result of inserted genes may kill useful insects, reducing biodiversity
• companies may patent GM crops so farmers have less choice about what they can grow
• some companies may use terminator genes which prevent germination so farmers have to spend more money on new seeds each year

Question 8

How are animals transformed/ genetically modified?

Answer 8

• desired gene inserted into plasmid
• plasmid inserted into embryo cells or fertilised egg
• cell division by mitosis means all the cells contain the desired gene
• embryo is then inserted into uterus of surrogate mother

Question 9

What are the benefits with genetically modified animals?

Answer 9

• produced quickly, cheaply and in large supply
• not much problems with side effects in humans as they are human proteins made with human genes

Question 10

What are the concerns with genetically modified animals?

Answer 10

• producing transgenic animals causes animal suffering sue to high chance of birth defects
• ownership issues with who owns the genetic material of humans once it has been removed from the body