Biotechnology

• Bacteria can be engineered to produce human insulin.
• 1. A plasmid is removed from a bacterium
  2. the insulin gene is cut out of a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme
  3. a restriction enzyme recognises specific sequences of DNA and cuts the DNA at these points
  4. the cut leaves one of the DNA strands with unpaired bases- this is called a sticky end
  5. The plasmid is cut open using the same restriction enzyme- leaving the same sticky ends
• 6. The plasmid and the human insulin gene are mixed together

  7. Ligase (an enzyme) is added.

  8. this joins the sticky ends together to produce recombinant DNA (two different bits of DNA stuck together)

  9. the recombinant DNA is inserted into the bacterium

  10. the modified bacterium is grown in a vat under controlled conditions

  11. you end up with millions of bacteria that produce insulin

  12. the insulin can be harvested and purified to treat people with diabetes.
• Mycoprotein 


  Food from fungi
• • Using modern biotechnology techniques, large amounts of microorganisms can be cultured industrially under controlled conditions in large vats for use as a food source
  • mycoprotein is used to make high-protein meat substitutes for vegetarian meals like quorn
  • it’s made from the fungus Fusarium which is grown in aerobic conditions on glucose syrup, which it uses as food
  • the fungal biomass is harvested and purified to produce the mycoprotein
• What fungus is mycoprotein made from?

  Fusarium
• In what conditions is fusarium fungus grown?

  Aerobic
• What does fusarium use as food?

  Glucose syrup
• Crops can be genetically modified

  • genetically modified (GM) crops can be produced that are resistant to pests- improving crop yields
  • they can be genetically modified to grow better in drought conditions- again improving crop yields
  • some crops can be modified to provide more nutritional value e.g. Golden Rice has been genetically engineered to produce a chemical that is converted in the body into vitamin A
• • Many argue that people go hungry because they can’t afford food, not because there isn’t enough. So they argue we need to tackle poverty first.
  • There are fears that countries may become dependent on companies who sell GM seeds
  • sometimes poor soil is the main reason why crops fail, and even GM crops won’t survive.