Biotech and cloning Flashcards
what is biotechnology ?
the industrial use of living organisms (usually microorganisms) to produce food,drugs and other products
why are microorganisms usually used for biotech ?
- ideal growth conditions easily created
- grow rapidly, so products are made quickly
- can be grown on inexpensive materials
- can be grown any time of year
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of beer
yeast is added and anaerobically respires to produce ethanol and CO2 (fermentation)
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of bread
yeast respires, producing CO2, causing bread to rise
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of cheese
- chymosin (enzyme for clotting) obtained from genetically modified yeast
- lactic acid bacteria also used to convert lactose to lactic acid
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of yogurt
lactic acid bacteria
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of penicillin
certain fungi produce penicillin in times of stress to stop bacteria competing
what is the role of microorganisms in the making of insulin
- made by genetically modified bacteria with gene inserted
what is the role of microorganisms in bioremediation ?
- bacteria given nutrients to grow
- they break down pollutants into less harmful products
what are the advantages of microorganisms producing food ?
- can grow using waste (can be used to get rid of waste)
- low production cost, quick and easy
- can be cultured anywhere (could help with malnutrition in certain countries)
- healthier alternative
what are the disadvantages of microorganisms producing food ?
- a lot of care needed for preventing contamination
- people don’t like idea of grown on waste
- not same texture/flavor as meat
- high levels of uric acid may occur
define culture
a population of one type of microorganism thats been grown in controlled conditions
what are cultures grown in ?
fermentation vessels
what are the factors for culture growth ?
pH, temp, access to nutrients, vol of oxygen, vessel kept sterile
what is a closed culture ?
growth of culture is isolated from outside of vessel (no nutrients added…)
state the 4 stages of a closed culture
- lag phase
- exponential (log) phase
- stationary phase (poisonous waste builds up)
- decline (death) phase
define cloning
production of genetically identical cells / organisms from cells of an existing organism
define vegetative propagation
production of plant clones from non-reproductive tissue (roots…)
outline the process of cloning plants from cuttings
- take cutting from parent plant
- dip in rooting powder
- plant in pot containing suitable growth medium
- use propagator to create warm and moist environment
- plant elsewhere when strong enough / roots formed
outline the process of tissue culture
- meristematic cells taken from original plant
- cells are sterilized to kill micro org.
- cells placed on culture medium w/ plant nutrients and growth hormones
- callus forms
- plant is planted in soil when big enough
what is micro propagation ?
- method of producing lots of cloned plants fast
- same as tissue culture but callus is split to form many plants
state the 4 arguments for tissue culture
- desirable characteristics always passed on
- can be reproduced any season
- less space required
- plants produced a lot faster than growing from seeds
state the 4 arguments against tissue culture
- undesirable characteristics always passed on
- no genetic variation
- high production cost
- contamination by micro org. can result in complete loss of plants being cultured
outline the process of artificial embryo twinning
- egg cell is extracted from female and fertilized in petri dish
- cell left to divide to form embryo
- individual cells separated and put into their own dish
- cells divide to form embryo
- each embryo placed into surrogate mother to develop
what is an oocyte ?
immature egg cell
outline the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer
- nucleus extracted from somatic cell
- nucleus removed from an oocyte
- nucleus inserted into enucleated oocyte and fuses
- electrical current stimulates cell division to form embryo
- embryo implanted into surrogate mother
state the 5 uses for animal cloning
- research (test drugs on identical organisms)
- save endangered animals from extinction
- agriculture (increase no. of animals with desire. charact. )
- clone genetically modified animals
- harvest embryonic stem cells (e.g. to replace damaged tissue)
what are the 5 arguments for animal cloning ?
- desire charact. always passed on
- infertile organisms can be reproduced
- increase endangered species population
- animals can be cloned any time
- can help develop new treatments
what are the 3 arguments against animal cloning ?
- difficult / time consuming / expensive
- no genetic variation
- some see using human embryos for stem cells in destroying human lives
outline the simple way to culture microorganisms
- agar plate set up (petri dish + agar jelly)
- micro orgs. transferred onto plate w/ sterile inoculation loop
- incubate plates
- nutrients can be added to improve growing conditions
state some aseptic techniques
- regularly disinfect work surfaces
- sterilise equipment (pass through bunsen burner)
- work w/ bunsen burner near (hot air rises so air micro orgs. drawn away)
- minimise time agar plate is open
outline process of investigating effect of temp on bacteria growth
- add set vol of bacteria broth to 6 agar plates and spread across surface
- put lid on and tape shut
- place 3 in fridge and 3 in 25 degrees incubator
- put control in each temp as well
- after amount of time, count no. of colonies on each plate
- calculate mean for each temp
what are immobilised enzymes ?
enzymes attached to an insoluble material so they can’t be mixed with the products
state the three ways enzymes can be immobilised
1 - encapsulated in alginate (jelly) beads which act as partially permeable membrane
2 - trapped in silica gel matrix
3 - covalently bonded to cellulose / collagen fibres
why are immobilised enzymes useful for industry ?
- substrate solution passes through column of enzymes
- enzymes catalyse
- reaction solution flowing out only contains product (no enzyme)
state the advantages of using immobilised enzymes in industry
- columns of enzymes can be reused
- product isn’t mixed w/ enzymes
- immobilised enzymes more stable than normal (less likely to denature)
state the disadvantages of using immobilised enzymes in industry
- extra expensive equipment needed
- immobilised enzymes more expensive
- may be reduction in enzyme activity as can’t freely mix w/ substrate
state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding lactose
- immobilised lactase used to break down lactose to glucose and galactose (hydrolysis)
- allows for lactose-free dairy products
state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding penicillins
- immobilised penicillin acyclase enzymes used in production of semi-synthetic penicillin
- allows for penicillin against resistant bacteria
state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding glucose
- dextrins (carbohydrate products) broken down to glucose by immobilised enzyme glucoamylase
state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding fructose
Immobilised glucose imsomerase converts glucose to fructose
state the use of immobilised enzymes, surrounding amino acids
immobilised enzyme aminoacyclase used for industrial production of pure L-amino acid samples
