GM Products + Cloning Flashcards
how is insulin manufactured in a fermenter?
- the transgenic bacteria is placed into a fermenter in order to increase in number
- this is sterilised prior to use - the nutrient medium and air entering the system is also sterilised to prevent the growth of pathogens or competing microorganisms
- if the bacteria have enough nutrients and are kept at their optimum conditions they will begin to produce human insulin
what steps need to be taken in order to make the insulin in the fermenter?
- providing oxygen via the air line
- stirring the mixture to prevent clumping and a shortage of nutrients
- monitoring the temperature and cooling the fermenter if needed
- adding more nutrient medium
the insulin is secreted by the bacteria - it is then collected from the fermenter, purified and distributed
what are the two main stages of genetically modifying plants?
- introducing the new gene or genes into plant cells
- producing whole plants from just a few cells (tissue culture)
which bacterium is used to genetically modify plants?
agrobacterium tumefaciens - because it regularly inserts plasmids into plant cells, adding genes to the plant chromosomes
what kind of different traits can be added to plants?
- higher yield
- ability to produce extra nutrients
- resistance to extremes in weather
- resistance to pests
- resistance to disease/pathogens
what are advantages of genetically modifying plants?
- more precise method than selective breeding
- high crop yield/better food quality
- less pesticide/herbicide used to less pollution
- disease resistant/pest resistant/herbicide resistant
what are the disadvantages of genetically modified plants?
- not accepted by the public
- long term affects unknown
- may affect food chains or environment
- reduces variation
what is artificial propagation?
when you propagate (produce) many plants by taking cuttings from leaves, roots or stems
what is another method of producing much larger numbers of genetically identical plants?
tissue culture or micro propagation - this is useful for plants that are difficult to propagate by seeds or cuttings - whole plants are grown from individual cells for from small parts of plant tissue
what is the process of micro-propagation?
- a small section (explant) is cut from the desired plant, it is sterilised and placed onto a nutrient gel, where it grows into a small ball of cells (callus)
- small groups of cells are then taken from the callus and enter further stages of multiplication, rooting and acclimatizing and then transferring the plants into new soil - plant hormones are used to stimulate shoot and root growth, these small bundles of cells grow into individual cloned plants
if the plant has desirable features such as a high resistance to a specific pest, then the young plants will have this feature too - micro-propagation can also be used to increase the number of a genetically modified plant
what are gene banks?
where seeds of all different varieties are kept, in case breeders may want to use them in years to come
how are animals cloned?
- the DNA is extracted as a whole nucleus
- an electric shock is used to fuse the nucleus and empty (enucleated) egg cell, this also stimulates mitosis
what can cloning animals also be useful for?
to save species that are close to extinction
what is the research being done to clone human body parts for transplant surgery?
- pigs could be genetically modified to have human antigens (recognition proteins) on their cell membranes
- this could allow pig organs to be transplanted into humans as it would reduce the immune response against the organ and risk of rejection
- another possibly would be to genetically engineer goats or similar animals to produce human proteins, for example antibodies, in their milk
- the genetically modified pigs to be cloned to increase the population
- the proteins could be collected from the milk and used to treat patients with weak immune systems
what are complications of genetically cloning pigs?
xenotransplantation (transplants between different species) could lead to viruses being transferred between species
