cloning and biotechnology Flashcards
what regions of a plant is capable of vegetative reproduction
root and shoot tips
auxiliary buds (where leaves and stems meet)
vascular cambium (between xylem and phloem)
outline the steps of taking a cutting
- using a scalpel, take a cutting of a healthy stem between nodes from parent plant at a slant
- remove leaves from lower end of cutting
- dip the lower end in rooting powder
- place plant in pot containing suitable growth medium
- provide cutting with warm and moist environment by covering with a plastic bag
- when roots have formed, place in soil.
outline the steps of tissue culture
- cells from stem and root tip are taken from the original plant
- cells are sterilised with dilute bleach to kill any microorganisms.
- cells are placed on a culture medium
- should be carried out using aseptic conditions
- cells are left to divide to produce a mass of undifferentiated cells called a callus
- the mass is subdivided to produce many plants quickly, they are left to divide and grow then placed in soil.
what are some advantages of cloning plants
can close plants that don’t easily reproduce or are endangered.
can grow plants with desirable characteristics which are always passed on
can grow plants in any season
less space is required compared to conventional growth methods
time efficient
what are some disadvantages of cloning plants
no genetic variability so single disease can kill entire crop
contamination by microorganisms can be disastrous and result in complete loss of crop
outline the process of artificial embryo twinning
- an egg cell is extracted from the animal and fertilised in petri dish
- fertilised egg is left to divide forming an embryo in vitro
- individual cells from embryo are separated and each is placed into a separate petri dish. an embryo forms in each dish
- embryo is then implanted into a surrogate mother where it continues to develop
outline the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer
- from sheep A a somatic cell is taken and the nucleus is extracted and kept.
- an immature egg cell is taken from sheep B and its nucleus is removed to form an enucleated cell
- nucleus from sheep A is inserted into the enucleated cell where they fuse together and stimulated to divide eg. by electrofusion
this produces an embryo - the embryo is implanted into a surrogate mother
what are some advantages of animal cloning
can test drugs on cloned animals as they are genetically identical therefore genetic variables are controlled.
can be used to increase the number of animals with desirable characteristics
an animal that has been genetically modified to produce a beneficial substance in it’s milk could be cloned.
clones can be used to save endangered animals from extinction
what are some disadvantages of animal cloning
animal cloning has low success rates and is time consuming and expensive
no genetic variability therefore all clones are susceptible to disease
clones may have shorter lifespans and more health problems for example dolly the sheep had to be put down at 6 years due to severe arthritis
what is biotechnology
the industrial use of living organisms to produce food, drugs ect.
why are micro-organisms often used in biotechnology
their ideal growth conditions can be easily created
short life cycle so grow rapidly under right conditions
can grow on inexpensive materials eg. waste
can be grown any time of the year
what microorganism is used to make beer
yeast
what microorgamism is used in cheese making
bacteria
what micro-organism is used to make yoghurt
bacteria
what is bioremediation
process of using living organisms to remove pollutants such as oil and pesticides from contaminated sites