Genetic engineering (general)

What is a genetically-modified organism? (GMO)

An organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques

• Organism’s characteristics are affected

• Genes can be transferred between organisms of the same or different species

What is a transgenic organism?

An organism that has foreign gene(s) from an organism of different species introduced into its DNA

What is genetic engineering?

A technique used to transfer genes from one organism to another so the transferred gene can express itself in the recipient organism

What is the gene of interest?

The gene to be transferred

What is a plasmid?

A small circular strand of DNA found in bacterial cells that can replicate independently of other chromosomes in the cell

What is a vector?

A DNA molecule, virus or bacterium used to transfer the gene of interest into another organism

What substance is commonly used as a vector?

Plasmid can be isolated from bacteria to be used as a vector as it can be easily moved from one organism to another

What do plasmid cloning vectors consist of?

• An origin of replication (ori)

• A selectable marker (at least 1)

• A multiple cloning site (MCS)

What are selectable markers in plasmid cloning vectors?

Gene substances that are injected in the cell to isolate and identify host cells that have successfully taken up the plasmid

e.g. antibiotic resistance, fluorescence

What are Multiple Cloning Sites (MCS) in plasmid cloning vectors?

• A region of the plasmid that contains unique recognition sequences for a variety of restriction enzymes

• Where the gene of interest is inserted

Why does the gene-of-interest not insert into essential regions of the plasmid like the ori?

• Each of the restriction enzyme sites in the MCS are not present in the plasmid

• Only single cuts will occur for each enzyme within the MCS

What are restriction sites?

A segment of DNA recognized by a restriction enzyme

What is recombinant DNA?

DNA that contains genes from 2 different enzymes