Cloning & Biotechnology

Question 1

What’s a culture?

Answer 1

A substance that provides the nutrients for the artificial growth of bacteria and other cells

Question 2

What is agar?

Answer 2

A jelly made from algae that is used to culture microorganisms

Question 3

How do bacteria multiply?

Answer 3

Binary fission

Question 4

What’s a cross-linking agent used for?

Answer 4

To promote covalent bonding between the enzyme and insoluble substrate

Question 5

What process are extracted enzymes favoured in?

Answer 5

Continuous processes

Question 6

Why is ethanol described as a primary metabolite?

Answer 6

It’s produced in all yeast growth phases/ all the time

Question 7

What is meant by a primary metabolite?

Answer 7

A molecule needed for a cells normal survival/ growth
e.g., glucose, ethanol

Produced in all growth phases

Question 8

What’s vegetative propagation?

Answer 8

The production of plant clones from non-reproductive tissue e.g., roots

Question 9

What’s grafting in horticulture?

Answer 9

Joining the shoot of one plant to the growing stem & root of another

Question 10

What’s micropropagation?

Answer 10

When tissue culture is used to produce lots of cloned plants very quickly

Question 11

What’s a callus?

Answer 11

A mass of undifferentiated cells

Question 12

What’s the difference between agriculture and horticulture?

Answer 12

Agriculture relates to farming and horticulture involves cultivation of plant for any purpose but on a smaller scale e.g., gardening

Question 13

What’s biotechnology?

Answer 13

The industrial use of living organisms to produce food, drugs and other products

Question 14

What yeast is used to make beer?

Answer 14

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Question 15

How is beer made?

Answer 15

The yeast respires anaerobically to produce ethanol and CO2 via fermentation (ethanol is used in alcohol)

Question 16

How is bread made?

Answer 16

The CO2 from the yeast’s respiration causes bread to rise

Question 17

What bacteria is used to make cheese and yoghurt?

Answer 17

Lactobacillus or Streptococcus

Question 18

How is cheese made?

Answer 18

Chymosin enzyme clots milk
Lactic acid bacteria converts lactose –> lactic acid which makes milk sour and solidifies it

Question 19

How is yoghurt made?

Answer 19

Lactic acid clots milk and causes it to thicken
Flavours and colouring then added

Question 19

What’s the fungus in penicillin?

Answer 19

Penicillium

Question 20

How is penicillin made?

Answer 20

The fungus is grown under stress in industrial fermenters
Penicillin is collected and processed for medicine

Question 21

How’s insulin made?

Answer 21

Insulin gene is extracted using a restriction enzyme, part of bacteria removed (plasmid) using same restriction enzyme
Gene inserted into plasmid which is then put back into bacteria

Question 22

What’s bioremediation?

Answer 22

Using microorganisms to remove pollutants by breaking them down into less harmful products to clean up the area

Question 23

What’s single-celled microorganisms e.g., Quorn grown from?

Answer 23

Waste products

Question 24

What’s a culture (of microorganisms)?

Answer 24

A population of one type of microorganism thats been grown under controlled conditions

Question 25

What’s a closed culture?

Answer 25

Growth takes place in a vessel that’s isolated from the external environment (extra nutrients aren’t added & waste products not removed)

Question 26

How do you estimate number of cells in a culture?

Answer 26

N = N0 x 2^n

Question 27

What are immobilised enzymes?

Answer 27

Enzymes attached to an insoluble material so they can’t be mixed with the products

Question 28

Why are immobilised enzymes more stable than free enzymes?

Answer 28

Less likely to denature in high temperatures and PH