Genetic engineering L1 Part 3 + Gene Evolution L2 Part 1

Golden rice GMO was developed in

1990s

Golden rice has high levels of..

beta-carotene, meant to prevent vitamin A deficiency

Hard cheese requires an enzyme called…

rennet, traditionally from the stomach lining of a baby cow

When did the process of making hard cheese take place and what was the process like?

in 1990; microbes were genetically engineered to produce enzyme mix

90% of cheese made in the US uses what

GMO microbes

Most GMO labelling laws

do not require labelling rennet as GMO

The field of synthetic biology ties to design GMO microbes which can

make useful fuels for cars and electric generators, plastics and other materials

How common are diseases caused by a single malfunctioning gene?

1 in 1000

Most genetic diseases are

recessive LOF, mutation to gene that breaks protein

Most genetic diseases are recessive since

one working copy is enough

What does gene therapy do?

treat genetic diseases by replacing or augmenting mutated (defective) genes with normal (functional) genes

What does gene therapy provide in terms of DNA?

therapeutic DNA codes for functional versions of protein/add functional allele and replacing defective allele

Recessive conditions for gene therapies means..

don't need to replace mutated gene, just augment them and add functional copies

Some gene therapies do not require..

removing cells from the body

CRISPR can be used as an

alternative or with viral insertion

What is the steps for genetic therapy?

1) cells harvested from patient

2) in lab, virus altered so it cannot reproduce

3) a gene’s inserted into the virus

4) altered virus mixed with patient’s cell (using CRISPR)

5) cells become genetically altered

6) altered cells are injected into patient’s body

7) altered cell produce desired protein

Some success in gene therapy include for

- blood diseases - retinal diseases - spinal muscular atrophy

for blood diseases the FDA approved therapies for

-beta thalassemia

-sickle cell disease

-chimeric T cells for leukemia

motor neurons in general don't

don't divide

Two main goals in treating genetic diseases

- Treat existing patients (children/adults)

- Prevent new children from being born with genetic diseases

What is a treatment type for genetic diseases in existing patients?

Gene therapy that does not carry a risk of passing mutations to the next generation.

How can new children be prevented from inheriting genetic diseases?

- In vitro fertilization (IVF)

- rare cases, gene therapy may be required

most children with inherited diseases are born to

carriers or only one parent has disease

in vitro fertilization involves

combination off sperm and egg in vitro (in a test tube)

embryos are tested in pre-implantation if

parents carry genetic diseases

What is evolution?

the idea that all life on Earth descended from a common ancestor.

How does evolution occur?

All life on Earth descended from a common ancestor, with modifications of genetic material leading to different types of organisms

How do different types of organisms arise?

Through modifications of genetic material over time

What ecological levels change in evolution?

Populations and species change over time NOT individuals

What changes over time in evolution?

The genetic information of indivduals doesn’t change over time but the genetic makeup of whole populations changes as individuals pass on their genes with varying success

What is random genetic mutations?

source of new traits and variations within a population

What are selective pressures?

features of the environment that cause individuals with certain traits to die, while others with more useful traits survive and reproduce

Give examples of selective pressures:

- Predators

- Competing organisms

- Weather

- Natural disasters

What is natural selection?

The process through which the most "fit" individuals pass on their genes to the next generation (Surivial of fitness)

Genetic mutations create population with..

variation between individuals

Populations usually make..

more offspring than what could survive and reproduce

who passes on their genes to the next generation

only the fittest

What do selective pressures determine in terms of indviduals?

which individuals will survive and reproduce

What does selection cause changes in?

allele frequency

What happens to the frequncy of alleles in a population?

frequency of those alleles will change over time, traits that are not selected for will not disappear (heterzygotes are carriers)

Where do new genes come from?

New genes come from changes in the genome over time (duplication and modification of existing genes through viruses)

What happens to genome size and number of genes over time?

Genome size and the number of genes have increased over evolutionary time