Genetic engineering

• What is genetic engineering?

  A process that changes the genome of an organism by introducing a gene from another organism to give a desired characteristic
• How does genetic engineering work

  Isolate DNA from a eukaryotic cell.

  Isolate a plasmid from a bacterium.

  Use restriction enzymes to cut out the gene of interest and cut the plasmid at a matching site leaving sticky ends.

  Use ligase enzymes to insert the gene into the plasmid and then insert into the required cell.

  Allow bacteria to multiply, producing many copies of the gene or its protein.
• How does genetic engineering produce insulin?

  The insulin gene is cut out of DNA using restriction enzymes.

  A plasmid is taken from a bacterium and split open by restriction enzymes.

  Insulin gene is inserted into plasmid by ligase enzymes.

  Plasmid with insulin gets taken up by bacterium.

  Bacterium multiply and the insulin is harvested.
• What is golden rice?

  A variety of rice (oryza sativa) produced through genetic engineering that produces a precursor of vitamin A (beta-carotene) in the edible parts of the rice. It is grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A.
• What role does the plasmid play in genetic engineering?

  It is a vector
• What are the benefits of genetically engineering crops?

  Better size and quality of fruit.

  Resistant to diseases, insects herbicides.

  Larger yield.
• What is gene therapy?

  A way of treating inherited disorders by giving a person a healthy version of a gene
• What are the limitations of gene therapy?

  It is almost impossible to put the healthy genes into every single cell in someone's body so transferring the gene at early stages of development (embryos) is more efficient as whilst the develop, they'll be passed onto the other cells
• What are cons to genetically engineering crops?

  Currently there are no indicators that GM crops are bad but it is not 100% certain that the cannot affect our health.