Biotechnology

Question 1

Biotechnology

Answer 1

• Modifying organisms, cells, and/or their molecules to achieve some result
• Using genetic information for diagnostics, treatment and crime solving

Question 2

genetic engineering

Answer 2

manipulation of the genetic material of an organism to achieve some result

Question 3

recombinant DNA technology

Answer 3

recombining” genes of different organisms to create an organism with new capabilities

Question 4

most of our drugs are produced in

Answer 4

bacteria

Question 5

How do we grow the drugs in bacteria

Answer 5

o Chop DNA from donor species (ex: human gene for insulin)
o Amplify the singly copy of DNA into many copies
o Insert the DNA into bacteria
o Grow the bacteria. As they grow, they will go through transcription and translation and produce the protein (insulin)
o Harvest the protein and purify it for use in humans

Question 6

restriction enzymes

Answer 6

enzymes expressed by bacteria to protect themselves from viruses

recognize specific sequences of DNA that don’t exist in their own genome and cut the DNA there

cut DNA

Question 7

process of restriction enzymes

Answer 7

• Cleaves dsDNA at specific sequences “restriction site”
• Restriction enzyme cleaves @ same place on both strands
• 1) Restriction enzyme cuts sugar-phosphate backbones
• 2) DNA fragment added from another molecule cut by same enzyme. Base pairing occurs
• 3) DNA ligase seals strands

Question 8

vector

Answer 8

DNA molecules that can carry foreign DNA into a host cell and replicate there

Question 9

how to amplify DNA

Answer 9

• Make many copies of a stretch of DNA
• Polymerase chain reaction
• Before PCR: had to harvest many many copies from many many cells

Question 10

types of vectors

Answer 10

Bacterial plasmids and viruses for eukaryotic cells, transposons

Question 11

plasmids

Answer 11

small circles of self replicating DNA

Question 12

Recombination in Eukaryotes

Answer 12

• Bacteria take up DNA readily from the environment and replicate it on its own or integrate it into its 1 chromosome
• Barriers: caps and tails
• Mechanisms: viruses

Question 13

first recombinant DNA techonology created insulin from

Answer 13

bacteria; before made from pigs and cows

Question 14

Gene therapy

Answer 14

• Insert correct copies of genes that have mutations
• SCID: remove stem cells from bone marrow, insert correct copu of mutated gene using a virus, put stem cells back in
• Other diseases: cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, heart disease

Question 15

problems with gene therapy

Answer 15

• Hard to get viruses to infect ONLY affected cells

* Hard to get viruses to infect enough cells for a ”cure” without triggering immune response

Question 16

How do we analyze genomes to look for disease

Answer 16

• Use complementary binding to search a genome for a mutated disease or disease risk factor (how likely you are to get the disease)

Question 17

Insecticide/herbicide resistance

Answer 17

allows farmers to spray their entire fields with chemicals to deter insects and weeds

Question 18

insect resistance

Answer 18

take a gene from a plant that isn’t tempting to a certain bug, insert that gene into your crop. No chemical insecticide needed

Question 19

Downsides to insecticide/pesticide

Answer 19

• Currently no evidence that the pesticide crystals are harmful to humans
• Insecticide sprays are toxic to the environment and can damage our water supplies
o May have public health effects
• Insects that pollinate these crops are affected by the genetic change. As these GMOs become more prevalent, the pollinating populations are dwindling

Question 20

if a crop is resistant to a weed-killing chemical

Answer 20

you can spread it on the entire field and it will kill the weeds but not the crop

Question 21

downside to spraying chemical on the entire field

Answer 21

o Leads to HUGE increase in herbicide use
o These resistant crops can cross-pollinate with other plants, spreading the gene that confers resistance
o The seeds from these plants can spread an be uncontrollable weeds in another farm
o Eventually many plants in a given geographical area will be resistant to the herbicide
o Several class-action lawsuits were recently brought against Monsanto to try to halt use of these GMOs

Question 22

disparate effects

Answer 22

• Monarch butterflies do not consume crops (eat milkweed)
• Roundup ready crops leads to excessive roundup use, kills milkweed
• Milkweed dusted with pollen from Bt plants causes monarch to eat less

Question 23

GMO Debates

Answer 23

• Risk to agriculture and environment are well-established and well-studied
• Risks include: gene flow, allowance of unsafe farming procedures
• What about risks to us if we eat GMOs?

Question 24

Facts of GMO

Answer 24

• No established disease risk by eating GMOs
• GMO labeling and bans are in place in Europe, Australia brazil china and Russia
• Concerns include: disease risk and allergies, transfer of genes to gut bacteria, presence of bacteria or fungal proteins expressed in foods
• Potentially GMO foods: corn, soybeans, alfalfa for animal feed, some tomatoes, some potatoes, some canola for oil

Question 25

Bovine

Answer 25

o Bovine growth hormone given to cows to increase their milk production by 15%
o Causes udder infections called mastitis
o Cows treated with rBST are also treated with antibiotics

Question 26

Bioremediation

Answer 26

• Using microorganisms to clear pollutants from the environment
• Deepwater horizon oil spill: 800 million L of oil, disappeared faster than exxon valdez 41 million L in 1989
• Gulf of Mexico has a vastly richer microbial ecology due to temp and natural oil seepage
• Within 24 hours, the oil eating bacteria populations had grown 10-fold

Question 27

Using GMOs for Benefit

Answer 27

• Enable livestock to make recombinant molecules, instead of bacteria
• Advantage: we make immune reactions agains bacterial proteins. If not pure, injection of recombinant material can cause deadly immune reactions

Question 28

Cloning

Answer 28

• Take the nucleus from a somatic cell (diploid)
• Insert it into a gamete cell (with nucleus removed)
• Create a new organism that looks identical to the parent (similar to parthenogenesis)

Question 29

Downsides to Cloning

Answer 29

• Difficult: must “turn on” genes that have been turned off (fate of dolly)
• All the downsides to asexual reproduction

Question 30

Upsides to Cloning

Answer 30

• Genetically engineer the perfect animal for a purpose

* Instead of re-engineering each subsequent animal, just clone

Question 31

Crimes and Relationship Testing

Answer 31

• Use restriction enzymes to digest DNA into fragments
• Fragment sizes will be unique to an individual, bc DNA sequence determines location of cuts
• Fragments of different sizes, called “DNA fingerprint”

Question 32

Personalized medicine

Answer 32

• Clinicians diagnose disease based on a set of symptoms
• Ex: melanoma
• A variety of genetic changes lead to the same symptoms
• Screen patients (and/or their tumours) to find out the specific mechanism of their disease
• Ex: roche’s zelboraf
• In melanoma tumors with a specific mutation (about 60% of melanoma patients), triggers cell death
• 80% cure/regression rate
• a few drugs on the market are beginning to work this way

Question 33

mechanisms of personalized medicine

Answer 33

• Biopsy tumor
• Full genetic analysis via drawn blood
• Dedifferentiated stem cells?

Question 34

controversy of personalized medicine

Answer 34

• Expense

* Insurance companies must pa