GM organisms Flashcards
Why genetically engineer microorganisms?
to produce useful substances such as hormones
How are some plants genetically engineered?
desired gene is placed in plasmid with marker gene, this is carried directly into the plant cell DNA, transgenic plant cells form a callus, each GM cell in the callus can form a new plant.
What can genetic engineering do to make plants more beneficial for us?
insect resistance, disease resistance, herbicide resistance, extended shelf life, nutritional value, medical use
What have scientists done to soybeans?
modified them so that they produce the Bt protein which is toxic to insects and also added resistance to a common weed killer so farmers can spray the weedkiller to reduce competition for the plants
What are the pros and cons of GM microorganisms?
pros : we need them e.g. insulin, it’s been done for years so now accepted, no ethical issues
cons : biowarfare, chance of disease spreading
What are some benefits of GM plants?
reduced pesticide spraying, increased yield, reduced competition, reduced waste through extended shelf life, growth in wider range of conditions, increased nutritional value, production of human medicines
What are some cons of GM plants?
reduction in biodiversity, pests may become resistant, transferred genes may spread to wild populations e.g. superweeds, allergies to proteins in the GM crops
What are issues surrounding patenting?
farmers that need the GM crops for their benefits cannot afford the payment for the patented GM crop so have to pay loads to get it so it doens’t benefit them much as the inventors want to make money from the situation
Why genetically modify animals?
disease resistance, higher yielding, production of human proteins through animal milk, faster growing, producing desired characteristics
What is pharming?
production of human medicines from animals through genetic modification
What are the two parts of pharming?
creating animal models and creating human proteins
How and why are animal models created?
addition or removal of genes so animals develop diseases and act as models to develop new therapies
How are human proteins created in animals?
human gene inserted into egg of fertilised cow, sheep or goat, along with a promoter sequence so gene is only expressed in mammary glands. Once born and gives birth, the milk it produces will contain the protein that can then be harvested
What are the two types of gene therapy in humans?
somatic cell gene therapy and germ line cell gene therapy
What is somatic cell gene therapy?
replacing mutant allele with healthy allele in affected somatic cells
