sample hsc Flashcards
cloning is a technique that would be used to increased numbers of endangered species. What effect would cloning have on genetic diversity of the species?
Whilst cloning would help increase the population size of the species it would decrease biodiversity.
what is the process in gene cloning?
known genes are inserted into the DNA of host
e.g. of gene cloning
bt gene into cotton to make the cotton disease resistant
what is the process of whole organism cloning?
a single cell is used to make an entire organism through recombinant DNA technology to create genetically identical offspring to parent.
e.g. of whole org cloning
often used in agriculture - fruit, crops, sheep…
how have our knowledge of chromosome structure has led to reproductive technologies that have potential to alter the path of evolution?
reproductive technologies include artificial insemination, artificial pollination and whole org. cloning.
these technologies can reduce biodiversity - this reduction makes more species vulnerable to environmental changes and therefore at increased risk of extinction.
chromosomes consist of DNA combined with proteins they key understanding about
idenitdy a transgenic species and state its use
golden rice is a transgenic organism that contains additional genes from daffodils and soil bacterium producing grains with increased amounts of beta-carotene, increasing the nutrient content of rice, therefore the transgenic organism is beneficial in solving vit A deficiencies in developing countries.
discuss ethical issues that arise from the use of transgenic species
- who decided what is appropriate to introduce into another org?
- what is the purpose of the modification?
- costs involved
- effects on the environment
“all mutations are harmful” discuss
“all mutations are harmful and incorrect” this statement is very broad and incorrect. Mutations are one of the contributing factors to genetic variation hence can be beneficial to society as it produces new alleles. Without these changes to DNA the process of natural selection wouldn’t exist and organisms would not be able to survive in a changing environment.
outline the process of gene splicing to produce recombinant dna
gene splicing can be carried out by isolating the target DNA, then cutting using a restriction enzyme, this can then be recombined with the use of DNA ligase.
state one difference between rna and dna
dna is has 2 strands whereas rna is single stranded
give a use of pcr
pcr is used to amplify genes, making multiple copies which can then be used for analysis.
state what happens in each step of pcr
- denaturation - heated to 95 degrees - causing dna to denature - separating the strands
- annealing - cooled to 55 degrees - allows primers to anneal
- extension - heated to 72 degrees - polymerase moves down template synthesising new dna
describe the roles of dna and rna in an application of biotech
new biotechnology applications in the treatment of diabetic patients have been developed, including the production of insulin through gene technology, a process that ultilises the human insulin gene and inserted into liver rather than damaged pancreatic tissue, as the liver cells are similar to the beta cells that produce insulin. the new gene or section of dna inserted into the patient liver cell nuceli. the translation of this section of dna into complementary bases then involves reverse transcription, which will create a copy of rna that can then produce the new polypeptide or protein. this in turn will complete the new strand and form the insulin.
outline a type of t cells
cytotoxic t cells move to the site of infection and release chemicals that destroy infected cells.
