Natural selection & Genetic modification

• Evolution is a change in characteristics of a species over time. Fossils, such as Ardi and Lucy, and stone tools are evidence for evolution.
• Darwin's theory of evolution was published, it stated that all species evolved from a common ancestor due to natural selection and evolution over time.
• The classification system:

  • kingdom - animal, plant, fungi, protist, prokaryote
  • phylum, class, order, family
  • genus - binomial name
  • species - system

  Three domain system:

  • Bacteria, archaea, eukarya (animal, plant, fungi, protist)
• Artificial selection such as selective breeding produces plants or animals with desirable characteristics. It has risks such as the loss of genetic diversity, and spread of disease.
• Genetic engineering changes the DNA of an organism to produce a desirable trait (GMO). An example is the genetic modification of bacteria to create insulin.
• • A section of DNA from a human chromosome is cut using restriction enzymes and leaves sticky ends.
  • The same restriction enzymes cut plasmids and leave complimentary sticky ends.
  • DNA ligase joins the sticky ends and it is inserted back into the bacteria.