Biological Resources

• Glasshouses and polyethene tunnels


  • Protect crops from harsh weather conditions
  • Increase carbon dioxide levels and rate of photosynthesis
  • Trap heat from the Sun to reach optimum enzyme temperature
  • Protect plants from pests and diseases
• Factors affecting crop yield


  • Carbon dioxide
  • Temperature
  • Fertiliser
  • Pest control
• Increasing carbon dioxide levels

  Burn paraffin lamps
• Increased carbon dioxide levels


  Ensures carbon dioxide is not the limiting factor in the rate of photosynthesis
• Increased temperature in glasshouse

  Allows enzymes in photosynthesis to work at optimum temperature, increasing the rate of photosynthesis
• Fertilisers


  • Contain nutrients that allow plants to grow faster
  • Water-soluble minerals absorbed into plant roots by active transport
  • Nitrates required for amino acids and protein growth
  • Phosphates required for respiration and root growth
  • Potassium needed for growth of flowers and fruit, allowing enzyme reactions
• Pest control


  Using pesticides or biological control to prevent insects eating plants
• Pesticides


  • Fungicides
  • Herbicides
  • Insecticides
• Advantages of pesticides


  • Quick and efficient
  • Can kill entire populations
• Disadvantages of pesticides


  • Organisms can develop resistance
  • Non-specific so kills other organisms
  • Bioaccumulation can make it toxic to others in the food chain
  • Have to continuously apply
• Anaerobic respiration in yeast


  Glucose -> Ethanol + Carbon dioxide

  The carbon dioxide bubbles cause the bread to rise
• Investigating anaerobic respiration in yeast


  1. Dissolve sugar in boiled water

  2. Mix yeast with sugar solution in boiling tube

  3. Add layer of oil to prevent oxygen entry

  4. Connect boiling tube to test tube of lime water

  5. Count bubbles over time
• Lactobacillus


  Useful bacteria in making yoghurt

  Breaks down lactose in milk to form lactic acid, lowering pH and denaturing proteins to give yoghurt texture
• Production of yoghurt


  1. Sterilise equipment to kill unwanted microorganisms

  2. Heat milk to 72°C for 15 seconds to kill microorganisms (pasteurisation)

  3. Cool milk and add lactobacillus

  4. Incubate at 40°C for bacteria to break down lactose

  5. Add any flavourings, colourings or fruit before packaging
• Industrial fermenter


  • Requires aseptic conditions to prevent contamination
  • Provides nutrients for microorganism respiration
  • Maintains optimum temperature and pH for enzymes
  • Agitation by stirring paddles to distribute nutrients, oxygen, temperature, pH and microorganisms evenly

  
• Methods in fish farming


  • Maintaining water quality
  • Controlling intraspecific predation
  • Controlling interspecific predation
  • Controlling disease
  • Removing waste products
  • Controlling quality and frequency of feeding
  • Selective breeding
• Selective breeding


  Humans choose which organisms to breed to produce offspring with desired characteristics

  Can lead to inbreeding and reduced gene pool, making species more susceptible to changes
• Genetic engineering


  Modifying the genome of an organism by introducing a gene from another organism to give a desired characteristic
• Production of human insulin


  1. Cut insulin gene from healthy individual using restriction enzymes

  2. Cut virus or bacterial plasmid using same restriction enzyme

  3. Join sticky ends of gene and virus/plasmid using ligase enzymes

  4. Place combined loop in vector like bacterial cell to multiply
• Genetically modified crops


  • Engineered to be resistant to insects and herbicides, increasing yields
• Transgenic


  Transfer of genetic material from one species to a different species
• Micropropagation (tissue culture)


  Plant cells placed in growth medium with nutrients and hormones to stimulate growth, producing genetically identical clones
• Cloning animals


  1. Remove nucleus from unfertilised egg cell

  2. Remove nucleus from adult body cell and place in enucleated egg cell

  3. Stimulate egg cell with electric shock to divide and form embryo

  4. Implant embryo into womb of female
• Advantages of cloning


  • Clones produce identical offspring
  • Large number of clones can be produced
  • Can produce organs for transplants that won't be rejected
• Disadvantages of cloning


  • Decreases variation in population
  • More susceptible to disease as no variation
• Transgenic animals


  Animals containing genes from a different species, used to produce human proteins