Genetic Engineering Flashcards
1
Q
What is genetic engineering?
A
- any direct manipulation of an organism’s genes
2
Q
What is biotechnology?
A
- using scientific procedures to influence specific processes in living organisms which will benefit humans or improve the environment
3
Q
How can genes be altered through genetic engineering?
A
- turned on or off
- deleted or deactivated
- foreign genes inserted into chromosomes
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
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
6
Q
What is a genetically modified organism?
A
- an organism with introduced foreign DNA (gene) that results in new and useful traits
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
8
Q
What is a vector?
A
- a virus (bacteriophage) or plasmid that transfers foreign genetic material into another cell
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
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
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
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
13
Q
What are the types of delivery of new genes into the body?
A
- Direct delivery
- Cell-based delivery
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
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
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
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
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
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
20
Q
What is the problem with conventional plant breeding methods in terms of time?
A
- they can be slow and unpredictable
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
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
What is a transgene?
- the inserted gene in a genetically modified organism
26
What does transgenic technology enable plant breeders to do?
- 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
What are the 2 main methods of transforming plant cells and tissues?
1. the 'gene gun' method
2. recombinant DNA techniques
28
How does the 'gene gun' method work?
- 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
How are polyploidy plants advanced through biotechnology?
- larger flowers
- larger fruits
- larger storage organs
- seedless fruits
- resistance to disease
30
What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of yield?
- increased yields which will help to solve the world's hunger and malnutrition problems
31
What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of the environment?
- help protect and preserve the environment by reducing reliance on chemical pesticides and herbicides
32
What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of resistance?
- resistance to pests and herbicides
- e.g. introduction of Bt bacteria (which produce a protein that kills certain insects)
- resistance to weather extremes
33
What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of nutrients?
- increased nutritional value
34
What are the advantages of GM crops in terms of flavour?
- improved taste and quality
35
What are the risks of GM crops in terms of the environment?
- potential danger to the environment
- possible health risks to humans
- economics
36
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of costs?
- they are costly to produce
- as they involve modern biotechnology which requires highly skilled people and sophisticated and expensive equipment
37
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of the environment?
- may include a pesticide-resistance gene that unintentionally harms wild life and disrupts food webs
38
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of biodiversity?
- 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
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of vulnerability?
- could be more vulnerable to climate change, pests and diseases if grown as a monoculture
40
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of interbreeding?
- can interbreed with wild plants and spread to future generations in an unpredictable uncontrollable way
41
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of disease?
- if ingested by animals (especially humans) may disrupt normal gene function
- causing diseases such as cancer
42
What are the disadvantages of GM crops in terms of allergies?
- may be harmful to some
- due to the introduction of new proteins causing allergies in humans
43
What is cloning?
- 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
What are the different nuclear transfer techniques?
1. embryonic nuclear transfer
2. non-embryonic nuclear transfer (somatic cell transfer)
45
What does the process of embryonic nuclear transfer use?
- cells taken directly from early embryos
46
What can embryonic nuclear transfer produce?
- 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
What does the process of 'somatic cell nuclear transfer' SCNT involve?
- 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
Why is the procedure of a somatic cell nuclear transfer so significant?
- 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
What is the most controversial aspect of cloning?
- the potential to clone humans
- which creates enormous moral and ethical concerns
50
What could cloning humans result in, in terms of specific groups?
- the creation of groups of people for specific purposes
- e.g. warfare or slavery
51
What could cloning humans result in, in terms of perceived improvement?
- attempts to improve the human race according to an arbitrary standard
52
What could cloning humans result in, in terms of harvesting?
- clones being created for the sole purpose of using their organs and tissues for transplants
53
What could cloning humans result in, in terms of deaths?
- the death of many embryos and newborns because the techniques have not been perfected
54
What does cloning negatively reduce?
- reduces genetic diversity by reducing the gene pool
- weakening a population's ability to adapt to its surroundings
