Chapter 20

Question 1

What is genetic engineering?

Answer 1

Direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes

Question 2

How is genetic engineering done?

Answer 2

DNA sequencing, gene cloning, gene therapy, etc.

Question 3

What is DNA sequencing?

Answer 3

A scientific process by which a specific strand of each fragment is immobilized, and the complementary strand synthesized one nucleotide at a time

Question 4

How is DNA sequencing done?

Answer 4

A specific strand of each fragment is immobilized, and the complementary strand synthesized one nucleotide at a time

Question 5

What is a plasmid? How is plasmid used in recombinant DNA research?

Answer 5

Small, circular DNA molecules that replicate separately from the bacterial chromosome

Question 6

What is gene cloning?

Answer 6

Process by which scientists prepare well-defined DNA segments, usually a single gene, in multiple identical copies

Question 7

What are some uses of gene cloning?

Answer 7

Useful for amplifying genes to produce a protein product for research, medical, or other purposes.

Question 8

Describe how restriction enzymes are used to cut DNA molecules.

Answer 8

used to cut the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA in order to make a recombinant DNA fragment

Question 9

Where do restriction enzymes cut DNA molecules?

Answer 9

Restriction sites

Question 10

What are restriction fragments?

Answer 10

Fragments of DNA made during the cutting process

Question 11

How can restriction fragments be inserted into strands for foreign DNA?

Answer 11

Sticky ends can bond with complementary sticky ends of other fragments; DNA ligase is an enzyme that seals the bonds between restriction fragments which allows researchers to join two DNA fragments from different sources

Question 12

Describe the CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

Answer 12

Scientists can use it to edit genes by inserting an RNA strand for the DNA sequence they want to find and remove

Question 13

How is CRISPR-Cas9 technology being used to address insect-borne disease?

Answer 13

They can alter genes in the insects so they cannot transmit the disease and engineer the new allele so that it is favored for inheritance over the wild type allele

Question 14

What role can gel electrophoresis play in visualizing restriction fragments?

Answer 14

To separate and visualize the fragments produced to check that recombination has taken place

Question 15

What does PCR stand for?

Answer 15

Polymerase Chain Reaction

Question 16

Describe how PCR works.

Answer 16

1) the DNA is heated leading to denaturation (untwisting and separation) of the DNA strands
2) The DNA is cooled during the annealing process which allows the attachment of DNA primers
3) the DNA is replicated during the extension process.

Question 17

What useable product do you end up with at the end of PCR?

Answer 17

Clones of a specific segment of DNA

Question 18

Why might you want to produce many copies of a segment of DNA?

Answer 18

The segments can be inserted into other organisms, can be used to compare DNA between species to assess evolutionary relationships, can be used to amplify DNA found at a crime scene, etc.

Question 19

Can PCR be used to clone genes? Explain your answer.

Answer 19

Yes, it is a way to quickly replicate the DNA with few errors and can be used even if the researcher only has a small sample of the DNA.

Question 20

What is organismal cloning?

Answer 20

A process that produces one or more organisms genetically identical to the “parent” that donated the single cell

Question 21

How is nuclear transplantation accomplished?

Answer 21

the nucleus of an unfertilized egg cell or zygote is replaced with the nucleus of a differentiated cell

Question 22

Will cloned animals always look and behave the same as the original organism?

Answer 22

no

Question 23

What are stem cells?

Answer 23

A relatively unspecialized cell that can reproduce itself indefinitely, or under certain conditions can differentiate into one or more types of specialized cells

Question 24

Totipotent

Answer 24

a cell that can generate an entirely new organism and is used for cloning in plants

Question 25

Pluripotent

Answer 25

a cell that can differentiate into many different cell types

Question 26

Embryonic stem cell

Answer 26

cells in embryos that are capable of giving rise to differentiated embryonic cells of any type

Question 27

Induced pluripotent stem cell

Answer 27

differentiated adult cells that have been treated to act like an embryonic stem cell

Question 28

Describe the difference between embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells.

Answer 28

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of cell whereas adult stem cells can only differentiate into a select few cells (fat, bone, blood).

Question 29

What is therapeutic cloning?

Answer 29

Cloning of embryonic stem cells

Question 30

What is the function of therapeutic cloning?

Answer 30

To produce cells for treating disease

Question 31

Which diseases can stem cells (particularly iPS cells) be used to combat?

Answer 31

Type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Down syndrome, and other diseases

Question 32

Biotechnology

Answer 32

the manipulation of organisms or their components to make useful products

Question 33

DNA technology

Answer 33

the main technology for sequencing and manipulating DNA

Question 34

DNA cloning

Answer 34

the process by which scientists prepare well-defined DNA segments in multiple identical copies

Question 35

Genetic profile

Answer 35

An individual’s unique set of genetic markers