Biology 6.15-Genetic Engineering

• Genetic engineering is transferring the gene that produces a desirable characteristic to another organism so it can develop the same trait.
• The genome of Genetically Modified (GM) organisms will have been changed after having a helpful gene added to it.
• Genetic Engineering means to isolate the required gene using enzymes to cut it out, inserting it into a vector (bacterial plasmid or virus) and inserting it into the required cell at an early stage of development.
• The gene is inserted into the new cell so the cell can take up the vector and start producing the protein (with the desired characteristic) the gene codes for.
• Golden Rice is a genetically modified crop that is the solution to world hunger.
• Golden Rice is yellow because of beta-carotene added to it.
• Beta carotene in Golden Rice is converted by our body into vitamin A which we need to keep our eyes healthy.
• The gene for Vitamin A is extracted from the daffodil flower.
• To produce Golden Rice, the gene for Vitamin A is isolated from a daffodil using an enzyme and inserted into a vector (bacterial plasmid or virus) and is transferred to the rice plant.
• Bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce Insulin.
• The gene for insulin is isolated from the human genome using an enzyme and is inserted into a bacterial plasmid, which is a vector, and is placed back into the bacteria where it will reproduce rapidly and produce insulin that can then be purified.
• Advantages of GM crops: disease-resistant crops mean there is less damage and increased crop yield; herbicide-resistant crops means they survive over weeds which die due to herbicide use so there is less competition and higher survival; crops have additional health benefits e.g Golden Rice=better eyesight.
• Disadvantages of GM crops: cross pollination transfers genes onto weeds, giving them an advantage so there is more competition (resulting in less yield of crops); lack of genetic variation means that organisms cannot adapt to changes in the environment+lack of biodiversity.
• Genetic engineering is used to treat inherited disorders due to faulty genes.
• Gene Therapy is the transfer of the healthy gene into a patient's body to treat or prevent a disease.
• Cons of Gene therapy: if the faulty gene is in all of the cells, it would be difficult to transfer the new, healthy gene to every single cell.
• Solutions for Cons of Gene Therapy: transferring the gene at an early stage of development (embryo or egg) means as they develop, the gene can be passed on to all of the cells as they divide by mitosis at this stage.