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LS - Entire Sections > Genetic Engineering > Flashcards

Genetic Engineering Flashcards

1
Q

What is genetic engineering?

A
  • any direct manipulation of an organism’s genes
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2
Q

What is biotechnology?

A
  • using scientific procedures to influence specific processes in living organisms which will benefit humans or improve the environment
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3
Q

How can genes be altered through genetic engineering?

A
  • turned on or off
  • deleted or deactivated
  • foreign genes inserted into chromosomes
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4
Q

What is recombinant DNA technology?

A
  • a form of biotechnology that is used to introduce new, beneficial genes into an organism to create genetically modified organisms
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5
Q

What is recombinant DNA?

A
  • a form of DNA that does not exist naturally but is created by combining DNA sequences that would not normally occur together
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6
Q

What is a genetically modified organism?

A
  • an organism with introduced foreign DNA (gene) that results in new and useful traits
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7
Q

What does recombinant DNA technology involve?

A
  • finding a desirable gene and moving it into the cells of another organism by means of a vector
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8
Q

What is a vector?

A
  • a virus (bacteriophage) or plasmid that transfers foreign genetic material into another cell
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9
Q

What is a plasmid?

A
  • a circular, double stranded DNA molecules found in bacterial cells that are not part of the bacterial chromosome
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10
Q

How does recombinant DNA technology work?

A
  • after the organism has been genetically modified, the new organism will then follow the instructions of the inserted gene and make the protein for which the new gene codes
  • if the genes are placed into bacteria, the bacteria can then be cultured to produce many working copies so that large quantities of the desired protein are produced
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11
Q

What is gene therapy?

A
  • an experimental genetic engineering technique that replaces a faulty gene or adds a new gene
  • in a n attempt to cure disease or improve the body’s ability to fight disease
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12
Q

How are new genes introduced into the body?

A
  • vectors such as viruses are used to deliver the gene into the cells of the body
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13
Q

What are the types of delivery of new genes into the body?

A
  1. Direct delivery
  2. Cell-based delivery
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14
Q

How does direct delivery of new genes work?

A
  • the vector can be injected or given intravenously directly into a specific tissue in the body
  • where it is taken up by individual cells
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15
Q

How does cell-based delivery of new genes work?

A
  • a sample of the patient’s cells can be removed and exposed to the vector in a laboratory setting
  • the cells containing the vector are then returned to the patient
  • if the treatment is successful, the new gene delivered by the vector will make a functioning protein
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16
Q

What technical challenges must researchers overcome in before gene therapy becomes a practical approach to treating a disease?

A
  • find better ways to deliver genes and target them to particular cells
  • ensure that new genes are precisely controlled by the body
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17
Q

What can farmers control by means of artificial selection?

A
  • the reproduction of their plants
  • so that each new generation has as many of the parents’ beneficial genes as possible
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18
Q

What have been some of the benefits of selective breeding?

A
  • the yield of the major cereal crops has been increased
  • crops have become more resistant to disease
  • the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables has been enhanced
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19
Q

What is transformation in relation to genetic modification?

A
  • the change in a cell or organism brought about by the uptake of introduced foreign DNA
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20
Q

What is the problem with conventional plant breeding methods in terms of time?

A
  • they can be slow and unpredictable
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21
Q

How does genetic engineering combat the problems relating to conventional plant breeding methods and time?

A
  • the exact trait can be created in one generation with great accuracy
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22
Q

What is the problem with conventional plant breeding methods in terms of relation?

A
  • conventional plant breeding can only combine closely related plants
23
Q

How does genetic engineering combat the problems relating to conventional plant breeding methods and relation?

A
  • genetic engineering of plants enables scientists to take any gene from any living organism and introduce it into a plant
24
Q

What is a transgenic organism?

A
  • an organism that develops from a cell with recombinant DNA
25
Q

What is a transgene?

A
  • the inserted gene in a genetically modified organism
26
Q

What does transgenic technology enable plant breeders to do?

A
  • to identify and isolate genes that control a specific trait from a wide range of living resources
  • and artificially insert them into other organisms which will then have the required traits
  • enabling plant breeders to generate more useful and productive crop varieties
27
Q

What are the 2 main methods of transforming plant cells and tissues?

A
  1. the ‘gene gun’ method
  2. recombinant DNA techniques
28
Q

How does the ‘gene gun’ method work?

A
  • pellets of metal coated with the desirable DNA are fired into plant cells
  • those cells that take up the DNA may be clones and then allowed to grow into new plants
  • producing vast numbers of genetically identical crop plants
29
Q

How are polyploidy plants advanced through biotechnology?

A
  • larger flowers
  • larger fruits
  • larger storage organs
  • seedless fruits
  • resistance to disease
30
Q

What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of yield?

A
  • increased yields which will help to solve the world’s hunger and malnutrition problems
31
Q

What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of the environment?

A
  • help protect and preserve the environment by reducing reliance on chemical pesticides and herbicides
32
Q

What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of resistance?

A
  • resistance to pests and herbicides
  • e.g. introduction of Bt bacteria (which produce a protein that kills certain insects)
  • resistance to weather extremes
33
Q

What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of nutrients?

A
  • increased nutritional value
34
Q

What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of flavour?

A
  • improved taste and quality
35
Q

What are the risks of GM crops in terms of the environment?

A
  • potential danger to the environment
  • possible health risks to humans
  • economics
36
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of costs?

A
  • they are costly to produce
  • as they involve modern biotechnology which requires highly skilled people and sophisticated and expensive equipment
37
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of the environment?

A
  • may include a pesticide-resistance gene that unintentionally harms wild life and disrupts food webs
38
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of biodiversity?

A
  • are a threat to biodiversity of wild species
  • as they could be grown on such a large scale that they destroy the habitats of wild species
39
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of vulnerability?

A
  • could be more vulnerable to climate change, pests and diseases if grown as a monoculture
40
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of interbreeding?

A
  • can interbreed with wild plants and spread to future generations in an unpredictable uncontrollable way
41
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of disease?

A
  • if ingested by animals (especially humans) may disrupt normal gene function
  • causing diseases such as cancer
42
Q

What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of allergies?

A
  • may be harmful to some
  • due to the introduction of new proteins causing allergies in humans
43
Q

What is cloning?

A
  • the processes used to create an exact genetic copy of another gene, cell, tissue or organism
  • the copied material, the clone, has the same genetic makeup as the original
44
Q

What are the different nuclear transfer techniques?

A
  1. embryonic nuclear transfer
  2. non-embryonic nuclear transfer (somatic cell transfer)
45
Q

What does the process of embryonic nuclear transfer use?

A
  • cells taken directly from early embryos
46
Q

What can embryonic nuclear transfer produce?

A
  • many transgenic animals with very precise genetic qualities as rapidly and cheaply as possible
  • many clones from a single female to conserve animals nearing extinction
  • early embryos from which stem cells can be isolated for use in tissue and cell engineering
47
Q

What does the process of ‘somatic cell nuclear transfer’ SCNT involve?

A
  • scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a donor adult cell
  • to an egg whose nucleus, and this its genetic material, has been removed
  • an electric pulse is used to combine the dormant donor cell and the recipient egg cell
  • after reaching a suitable stage, the embryo is transferred to the uterus of a female host
  • the resulting offspring is a clone of the somatic cell donor
48
Q

Why is the procedure of a somatic cell nuclear transfer so significant?

A
  • it proved that the genetic material from a specialised adult cell could be reprogrammed into an embryonic state
  • to generate an entire new organism
49
Q

What is the most controversial aspect of cloning?

A
  • the potential to clone humans
  • which creates enormous moral and ethical concerns
50
Q

What could cloning humans result in, in terms of specific groups?

A
  • the creation of groups of people for specific purposes
  • e.g. warfare or slavery
51
Q

What could cloning humans result in, in terms of perceived improvement?

A
  • attempts to improve the human race according to an arbitrary standard
52
Q

What could cloning humans result in, in terms of harvesting?

A
  • clones being created for the sole purpose of using their organs and tissues for transplants
53
Q

What could cloning humans result in, in terms of deaths?

A
  • the death of many embryos and newborns because the techniques have not been perfected
54
Q

What does cloning negatively reduce?

A
  • reduces genetic diversity by reducing the gene pool
  • weakening a population’s ability to adapt to its surroundings

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