genetic engineering/modification

• what is genetic engineering

  process of modifying the genome of an organism by introducing a gene from another organism, in order to give a desired characteristic
• how has genetic engineering played a role in the treatment of diabetes

  bacterial cells have been genetically engineered to produce human insulin to treat diabetes
• traits that could be altered by genetic engineering in crops

  • increased yield
  • increased quality
  • resistance to diabetes
  • resistance to insects
  • resistance to herbicides
  • resistance to drought
• 2 drawbacks of genetic engineering

  1. if the crops breed with wild plants they could spread the new genes into the wild and affect the wild population's gene pool
  2. there is a small risk that genetically modified food could negatively affect our health
• which 2 enzymes are used during the process of genetic engineering

  1. DNA ligase
  2. Restriction enzymes
• the steps of genetic engineering

  1. isolate the desired gene from the human DNA using restriction enzymes forming sticky ends
  2. use the same restriction enzymes to cut open a bacterial plasmid forming complementary sticky ends
  3. insert the desired gene into the plasmid useing the enzyme DNA ligase to form a recombinant plasmid
  4. insert the recombinant plasmid into the host bacteria
  5. let the bacteria divide and produce the desired protein