Cloning and Biotechnology Flashcards
Define cloning
The process leading to the formation of a clone
What is a clone?
Genetically identical copies of an organism
Give 3 advantages of natural cloning in plants
- Same environment okay for parent and offspring
- Rapid
- Reproduction doesn’t require 2 parents or sexual repro
Give 4 disadvantages of natural cloning in plants
- No genetic diversity/variation
- Therefore selection is impossible
- Offspring overcrowding
- Entire pop vulnerable to environmental change+disease
What is reproductive cloning?
Cloning that makes another organism
What is non-reproductive cloning known as, and what is its’ goal?
- Therapeutic cloning
- To produce embryonic stem cells
Where are stem cells taken from in non-productive/therapeutic cloning?
Blastocysts
What is Natural Vegetative propagation?
The generation of multiple offspring from one plant without sexual reproduction
Give 2 advantages of natural vegetative propagation
- Only one parent required
- Saves resources
Give a disadvantage of natural vegetative propagation
One disease can affect the whole population
What is micropropagation and tissue culture
The use of plant cutting to produce clones - produces many genetically identical plants from just one plants e.g.. elm
When can results start to be seen in natural vegetative propagation? Where does growth occur from?
- Many plants can reproduce asexually following damage
- Sprouts appear within 2 months
- These grown from meristem where damage is least likely to occur
Are the offspring from natural vegetative propagation genetically identical to the parent?
Yes
Outline the 9 step simple process of natural vegetative propagation
- Cells taken from shoot tip (Explants) with sterile forceps
- Explants placed in nutrient agar
- Cells proliferate to form big ball of cells - a Callus
- Cells treated with shoot stimulating hormones
- Cells grow into plantlets
- Treated with root-stimulating hormones
- Plants grow
- Plants planted into compost
What are the 5 advantage of natural vegetative propagation
- Farmers know what the crop will be like
- Cheaper method - Whole crop ready at the same time
- All crop has ideal features
- Faster than selective breeding
- Horticulture and Agriculture
What is the disadvantage of natural vegetative propagation?
All plants susceptible to same type of disease
Why doesn’t natural cloning happen often in animals, and what is the exception?
Most reproduce sexually, creating genetic variation and diversity
- Identical twins
How do identical twins happen/cause no genetic diversity?
- Zygote divides early in development to from 2 cells
- Each cell is genetically identical and grows into an individual organism
What are the two ways of creating artificial clones in animals?
- Artificial Embryo twinning
- Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
How does embryo twinning create clones? (1)
Cleaving of embryo is repeated
Give an example of when Embryo Twinning is used
E.g. cloned herd of cattle in America
- All organisms produced are identical
How does Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer work? (1)
Nucleus fo an adult egg placed in an enucleated egg
What are the advantaged of both methods of artificial cloning in animals?
- High value animals can be cloned in large numbers
- Rare animals can be cloned to preserve the species
- GM animals can be quickly produced
What are the disadvantaged of both methods of artificial cloning in animals?
- Animal welfare forgotten
- Reduced genetic diversity may decrease ability to cope with change
- Long term health of clone animals still unclear
Give 5 features of microorganisms that are useful in biotechnology
- Grow rapidly in favourable conditions
- Can be GM’d to produce specific products
- Can grow well at low temps
- Can grow anywhere in the world (not climate dependant)
- Tend to generate more pure products
Give the four example uses of microorganisms
Production of food
Production of drugs
Production of enzymes
Bioremediation of waste products - Waste water treatment
Give three foods created using micro-organisms
- Cheese and Yoghurt
- Quorn
- Soya sauce
Give two drugs made using micro-organisms
- Penecillin
2. Insulin
Give three enzymes produced with micro-organisms
Pectinase
Calcium nitrate
Bio-gas fuel production
Give 4 advantages of using Micro-organisms to make food for human consumption
- Protein produced faster than animals
- Production easily inc/dec. according to demand
- Protein contains no fat or cholesterol - Health benefits
- Small land surface area needed - season independent
Give 4 disadvantaged of using Micro-organisms to make food for human consumption
- Protein needs to be isolated from growth substrate
- Protein needs to be purified
- Amino acid profile different from animal protein
- Risk of infection of growth tank
Describe the four growth curve phases of a Micro-orgnism in a closed culture
- Lag phase
- Log phase
- Stationery phase
- Death phase
What happens in the lag phase? (5)
- Cells increase in size
- Enzymes synthesized
- No cell division
- Gives time to ensure stable environment
- Cells take in water
What happens to the population specifically in the lag phase?
- Population remains fairly consistent
What happened during the Log phase?
- Exponential growth due to high metabolic activity and reproduction
- Cells most vulnerable to anti-microbial during this period
What happens the the population in particular in the Log phase?
Exponential growth
What happens in the stationery phase?
- Nutrient levels decrease
- Toxic metabolites build up
- Growth rate slows
What happens to the population in the stationery phase?
- Growth rate slows
- Population stabilizes
- Organisms die at same rate new individuals are being produced
What happens in the death phase?
- Nutrient exhaustion
- Increased levels of toxic metabolites
- Microbial death exceeds numbers produced
What happens to the organism population in the Death phase?
Death exceeds numbers produced
What three things does growing micro-organisms on agar plates consist of?
- Sterilisation
- Inoculation
- Incubation
How is sterilisation ensured when carrying out Aseptic technique?
a. Agar and equipment must be sterile
b. Achieved by using an autoclave
c. All organisms are killed
d. Keep lid on petri dish to maintain sterility
How is Inoculation carried out under Aseptic technique?
a. Microorganisms introduced to sterile medium
b. Streaking – Wire loop dragged across agar with organisms on it
c. Seeding – pipette used to drop liquid medium on agar
d. Spreading – glass spreader used to spread the drop across the agar
How is Incubation carried out under Aseptic technique?
a. Place petri dish in warm environment
b. Place upside down to prevent condensation falling on surface of the agar
c. Do not open petri dish
d. Observe culture growth after 24-48 hours
e. Wash petri dish after use
Name the three ways of manipulating the growth conditions in Fermentation?
- Scaling-up growth
- Continuous culture
- Batch culture
Why is continuous culture useful? Give one restriction.
- Useful as waste products continually removed
- Some bacteria are removed
- Useful for maintaining the culture in the log phase
> Difficult to set up
What makes Continuous culture more efficient?
More efficient as the fermenter operates continuously
Why is Batch culture useful?
- It’s useful for producing secondary metabolites
- Easy to set up and maintain
- Useful for maintaining culture in stationery phase
What does Batch Culture involve?
- A closed environment
- Competition for limited resources
Where is Scaling-up growth carried out?
It’s conducted in a fermenter
What does the Scaling-up growth process involve? Using what?
- Culturing bacteria in an aqueous environment
> High pressure steam - sterilises environment
Sparger - Delivers oxygen
What is the outcome of Scaling-upg growth?
- Waste products removed
- Incoming air filtered
- Respiration increases temperature
What is used to combat the effects caused by respiration and acidification in ‘Scaling-up growth’?
- Respiration increasing temperature is lowered by a water jacket
- PH becoming more acidic is neutralised by adding an alkali
What are primary metabolites?
Substances produced by an organism as part of its normal growth
What is important about Primary metabolites?
They’re vital for cell growth
When are primary metabolites produced?
During Log phase
What are secondary metabolites?
Substances produced that are not part of normal growth?
Give 3 examples of Primary metabolites?
- Amino acids
- Lipids
- Vitamins
Give two examples of Secondary metabolites
- Antibiotics
- Penicillin
When are Secondary metabolites produced?
During the stationery phase
What are serial dilutions?
Repeated dilutions of a solution in order to reduce its concentration
What is a serial dilution useful for?
Useful technique for identifying rate of growth of a colony
Why might a serial dilution be used?
- Original solution may contain high numbers of microorganisms
- Need to dilute broth in order to clearly see starting density of colonies and determine growth
What is an immobilised enzyme?
An enzyme that is fixed and unable to move freely throughout a solution
Give 3 advantages of immobilising enzymes in biotechnology
- Enzymes don’t mix with product (Lower purification cost)
- Enzymes can be re-used
- Enzymes are fix within immobilising matrix which protects them from harsh environments
> High temp/extreme PH more feasible
Give the 2 disadvantages of immobilising enzymes in biotechnology
- Expensive to set up
- Immobilised enzymes are less active than free enzymes so process is slower
Give the four ways of immobilising enzymes
- Absorption
- Covalent bonding
- Entrapment
- Membrane barrier
How does absorption work as a method of enzyme immobilisation?
- Enzymes bound to e.g. clay surface by hydrophobic interactions and ionic links
- Weak bonds = some enzymes break loose
How does Covalent bonding work as a method of immobilising enzymes?
- Enzymes bound to e.g. clay surface by covalent bonds
- Sharing electrons = strong bonds
- Can be expensive and reduce enzyme action
- But enzymes unlikely to break free into reaction mixture
What is a problem with absorption as an enzyme immobilisation method?
- Weak bonds = some enzymes break loose
What is a 1 disadvantage and 1 advantage of Covalent bonding to immobilise enzymes?
- Can be expensive and reduce enzyme action
- But enzymes unlikely to break free into reaction mixture
> Sharing electrons makes a v. strong bond
How does Entrapment work as a method of enzyme fixation?
- Enzymes trapped in matrix
- Enzymes fully active
- Substrate diffuses into matrix
- Product diffuses out of matrix
Give an example of substance that may be used in the method of entrapment to immobilise enzymes
E.g. Calcium Alginate beads
How does using a membrane barrier to immobilise enzymes work?
- Semi-permeable membrane around enzymes
- Substrate small enough to pass through membrane to meet enzymes
What is one disadvantage of using a membrane barrier as a method to immobilise enzymes?
Limits rate of reaction
Only works for small molecules
Give 3 examples of use of immobilised enzymes
- Lactase
- Converted Glucose to Galactose
> Hydrolysis reaction - Used to make Lactose free milk