Gene technology and GMOs (week 7)

What does PCR do and what does it stand for?

stands for polymerase chain reaction which produces large quanities of DNA from small samples

What is the process of PCR

1. Separate the strands by heating to 98 degrees for 5 minutes

2. Add reaction mix - primers, nucleotides and dna polymerase

3. Incubate - cool to 60 degrees for few minutes

during this time primers attach to single strands and DNA polymerase synthesises complementary strand

this process is repeated in 23 cycles to produce enough copies

What is gel electrophoresis used for?

used to separate lage molecules of DNA on basis of size, electric charge and other physcial properties

What are DNA's properties?

it is negatively charged because phosphates are negatively charged. Molecules are of different sizes, visualised as bands by applying dyes

What is DNA profiling used for

it is a technique used for genetic analysis which identifies variations found in DNA of every individual. Uses distinct patterns of DNA restriction fragments to identify individual.

What can DNA profiling be used for?

investigate parentage, forensic science, presence of gene, relatedness of different organisms

What does of DNA sequencing rely on and why is it important?

relies on PCR and gel electrophoresis or machinery which shows the importance of protein from gene, mutations genome projects.

What is the process of DNA sequencing?

Four separate reactions are run containing different modified nucleotides. These are added to growing DNA strand and synthesis stops creating different fragments. Fragments are separated through electrophoresis analysed to determine the sequence.

What are GMO?

Genetically modified organisms include plants, animals and microorganisms who's genetic code is altered to give it characteristics it doesn't naturally have.

Why can scientists join DNA from very different organisms together?

Because genetic code is universal and all living things have the same DNA structure

How are GMO's created by modifying DNA?

Adding a foriegn gene, altering an existing gene or deleting/turning off a gene

What are restriction enzymes?

Purified forms of naturally occuring bacterial enzyme which allow genetic engineers to cut up DNA in a controlled way.

Difference between sticky and blunt ends?

some restriction enzymes cut and leave an overhand called sticky ends and blunt ends are cuts that have no overhang.

What is ligation

DNA fragments produced using restriction enzymes may be reassembled by a process called ligation by DNA ligase. Recombinant DNA plasmid is when fragments of DNA are joined together by DNA ligase producing molecule called recombinant DNA plasmid.

Give an example of using recombinant DNA (golden rice

splicing new genes into bacteria allows bacteria to make mass quantities of the product. For example extracing the pS4 gene from the daffodil and CRT1 gene from bacteria and splicing them together creates argobacterium used to infect rice plant embryos to produce golden rice.

What about insulin?

Insulin used tobe extracted from cows/pigs but this cause side effects on people therefore, insult is spliced together with bacteria to produce large quantities of insulin.