Genetic Engineering Flashcards
How can plants be cloned?
From cuttings and tissue culture
How are cuttings used to clone plants?
Gardeners take cuttings from good parent plants and then plant them to produce genetically identical copies of the parent plant
What is the adavantage of cloning plants by cuttings?
Quick and cheap
How are plants cloned using tissue culture?
Few plant cells are put into a growth medium with hormones, and grow into the new plants
What are the advantages of cloning from tissue culture?
Quick, can be grown all year and require little space
How can you make an animal clone?
Using embryo transplants
What are the main stages of embryo cloning?
- Sperm cells are taken from male animal and egg from female then the sperm artificially fertilises the egg
- The embryo that develops is split many times before any cell becomes specialised
- These cloned embryos are implanted into may cows
- Hundred of identical offspring are produced
How else can a clone be made?
Adult cell cloning
What are the main stages of adult cell cloning?
- Taking an unfertilised egg and removing genetic material (nucleus)
- Full set of chromosomes from adult body cell are inserted into empty egg cell
- The egg cell is stimulated by an electric shock, this makes it divide
- When embryo becomes a ball of cell it is implanted into an adult female, and the embryo grows into a genetically identical copy
What are the advantages of cloning?
Help preserve endangered species
Can lead to a greater understanding of development of embryo
What are the disadvantages of cloning?
Cloned animals may not be as healthy as normal ones
Humans might be cloned in the future and if this fails then people may be born with disabilities
What is genetic engineering?
Uses enzymes to cut and paste genes
What are the steps of genetic engineering?
Useful gene is cut from an organisms chromosome using enzymes
Enzymes then cut another organisms chromosome and then insert the useful gene
What are the advantages of genetic engineering?
GM crops have had their genes modified to make them resistant to viruses and insects so this can improve food supply
Genetic disorders may be cured
What are the disadvantages of genetic engineering?
We don’t know the permanent problems of it
Problems may be passed onto further generations
What are the advantages of GM crops?
- Can increase the yield of a crop, making more food
- GM crops can be engineered to produce nutrients that people in developing countries lack
What are The disadvantages of GM crops?
- GM crops affect number of weeds and insects so reduces farmland biodiversity
- Some say they are not safe and cause allergies
