Biorefineries Flashcards
Biggest biotech crops?
Soy and Maize
Biggest biotech countries
US 75 mil hectares
Brazil 53 mil
Argentina 23 mil
Role of agrobacterium?
Natures genetic engineer integrating TDNA into own plants host DNA. Induced by plant root phenolics
What was the main aim of the calgene-florigene company?
To produce blue rose from gene isolated from petunia.
Where does blue colour come from in plants and what specific gene is necessary to make this compound?
From an anthocyanin called delphinidin - not normally produced in carnations and roses. flavonoid 3’ 5’hydroxylase gene
What two qualities of a rose line is important for attempting this blue colour?
High flavenoid content and anthocyanin 5- aromatic acyltransferase and high pH - to shift away from red colour
What did the purple carnations show?
Insertion of one gene is not enough for blue colour - need as much aas 3 genes.
How can a transgenic plant have four species in it?
1) maize - actual corn plant
2) Agrobaccterium - responsible for insertion of t plasmid
3) Bacillus insect resistance (bt)
4) streptomyces -source of pat gene for glufosinate resistance
What is codon optimization?
uses synonymous codon changes to increase protein production without actually changing bases
How does Round-Up Ready work?
Artificial chemical glyphosate that targets are phosphate synthase in plants and kills them.
Transgenic plants are then made resistant to this by introducing gene from agrobacterium that makes a tolerant form of that phosphate synthase.
They also get a gene from an ochrobactrum strain that results in the breakdown of glyphosate
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
Cas-9 refers to enzyme that recognises CRISPR clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. It can then cut that specific section and also enzyme BE3 can rewrite nucleotide sequence!!
Example of CRISPR-Cas9 work?
modify proline of ALS gene to make watermelons herbicide resistant.
Effects of a lack of Vitamin A and ways to increase this in rice?
600000 deaths a year 500000 blindness increase beta carotene levels (vitamin A precursor)
Compare the 2 golden rice constructs
Both have left and right border
Both have a glutelin promotor (ensures the enzymes are expressed in endosperm)
Both have SSUcrtl -small subunit transferred to subunit effectively and crtl phyotene desaturase
1 has phytoene synthase from daffodil 2 from wheat
htp->pmi 1 has selection by hpt (antibiotic) 2 has selection by whether it can grow on mannose (consumer choice)
What was the tech behind the FLAVR SAVER tomato
RNAi gene silencing
