Biotechnology

Restriction Enzymes

  • cut the desired DNA out of the organism and DNA out of the plasmid
  • allows for the desired organism DNA to get inserted into the plasmid
  • cut in any type of DNA as long as it recognizes specific cutting sequences
  • bacteria makes it to defend against foreign, invading DNA

process of making bacteria to produce human insulin

  1. Restriction enzyme cuts bacterial plasmid and human insulin gene.
  2. Ligase joins cut plasmid and human insulin gene to create recombinant plasmid.
  3. The recombinant plasmid is inserted into a bacterial cell.
  4. The bacterial cell reproduces into cells with the recombinant plasmid that produce insulin.

bacteria and human antigen production

  • bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce a recombinant plasmid that codes for proteins to fight the antigens

Recombinant organisms and the environment

  • could disrupt the food chain if released out in the wild with no sort of regulation

Cells culture

  • the process where cells can be gathered from natural locations and grown in lab containers under controlled conditions
  • given appropriate food and environment to grow
  • easier to care for bacteria and yeast than plant, insect, or animal cells
  • harvested and studied after growth

Cloning

  • the process of creating a clonal population with identical DNA
  • streak bacteria on agar to generate single colonies each from a single cell

Looking inside cells

  • to study molecules like DNA and proteins, scientists break open cells and sort contents
  • purify single protein species from mixture in cell type based on physical and chemical properties

DNA

  • stores information of the cell -chemical backbone with A, C, G, T bases along its side

DNA Structure

  • directional sequence (5' to 3') because DNA subunits are joined head-to-tail
  • hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs A and T, C and G
  • strands run in opposite directions
  • thousands or even millions of base pairs long -double helix or circular DNA

RNA

  • retrieve and execute DNA functions
  • shorter than DNA, has ribose sugar and uracil instead of thymine

Proteins

  • workhorses of the cell
  • 20 different types
  • sequence determines 3D structure determines function
  • usually single-function, but also diverse function (enzymes, hormones, regulatory proteins, structural, antibodies)

DNA Replication

  1. mRNA codes gene in transcription
  2. tRNA in protein assembly line reads mRNA by codon in translation
  3. rRNAs to build ribosome scaffolding to build proteins
  • linear DNA has 3D consequences

Genes

  • segment within a DNA molecule singled out for copying into RNA to perform a function
  • some traits governed by single genes and others by multiple genes
  • vary in length and replication rate
  • all cells have all DNA but do not express all of DNA

DNA Ligase

  • enzyme gluing compatible pieces of DNA together
  • helps to create recombinant DNA
  • genes can be cut from plants or animals and placed in bacteria

Plasmids

  • small circular DNAs in some bacterial cells that replicate on their own
  • easy to extract and purify and join to foreign DNAs cut with the same enzyme
  • transformation puts hybrid DNA back in the bacteria
  • can carry antibiotic genes that allow new bacteria to survive
  • transformation
  • the process that introduces hybrid DNA into bacterial cells -now DNA can be perpetuated within the cell

cloning vehicle/cloning vector

  • the plasmid which carried the foreign DNA

DNA Libraries

  • collections of cloned sequences -individual DNAs of interest can be fished out with screening
  • cloning can produce hybrid DNAs

1st step in producing genetically engineered bacteria

  • use restriction enzyme to cut the gene from human DNA

genetic modification

  • a cell takes DNA from another source

Gel electrophoresis

  • helps to compare DNA samples from other sources
  • separates negatively charged (because of phosphate) DNA fragments in agarose gel
  • faster ones move farther down
  • proteins in polyacrylamide split between positive and negative charge and identified by staining
  • knowing organism's DNA sequence
  • allows the researcher to study specific genes

genetically modified bacterium

  • plasmid
  • foreign gene
  • recombinant DNA

Identical pattern on gel electrophoresis

  • same amount of DNA in both samples
  • fragments of the same size
  • same DNA molecules

genetically engineered bacteria advantages

  • genetically engineered bacteria can mass produce pure human proteins

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

  • replication of small necessary segment of DNA in a test tube
  • follows rules of base pairing
  • used in nearly every experiment or test involving DNA
  • developed in 1890s and won its inventor a Nobel Prize
  • each cycle ends with twice the amount of original DNA

Template DNA

  • starting DNA from dead organism, alive organism or crime scene
  • different in every experiment
  • target sequence isolated from this to be replicated several times

DNA Polymerase

  • enzyme that reads a strand of DNA and makes a complementary copy following base-pairing rules
  • Taq polymerase used in PCR because it is thermophilic and stable at high temperatures

Primers

  • short, single-stranded pieces of synthetic DNA binding to complementary regions in template DNA
  • forward primer and reverse primer to bind to each end in PCR to find needle in the haystack

dNTPs

  • a mix of all 4 nucleotide building blocks used to build a new strand of DNA

Buffer

  • solution maintaining a stable pH containing ions enabling polymerase function

PCR steps

  1. Denaturation
  2. Annealing
  3. Extension

Denaturation

  • samples heated to around 95° C to separate the DNA strands hydrogen bonds -separation of its structure

Annealing

  • sample is cooled to 50°C - 65° C
  • precise temperature based on primer sequences used
  • complementary strands of nucleotides bond with hydrogen bonds
  • creates short double-stranded DNA segments flanking the target sequence now primed to be copied

Extension

  • reaction mixture heated to around 72° C to allow polymerase to copy the DNA
  • optimal function range of Taq polymerase
  • Taq polymerase adds nucleotides starting from the primers

PCR Product

  • result of one or many PCR cycles
  • one cycle yields twice the original number of DNA strands

Taq polymerase

  • thermophilic enzyme used in PCR for extension step

Thermocycler

  • a mechanism that is used for PCR that raises the temperature around the DNA to the correct temperature for each of the steps to occur

Sanger Method

  • developed by Fred Sanger
  • 2 strands of DNA are separated
  • sequenced strand is copied using chemically altered bases
  • stops each time one particular letter is found in the chain
  • process repeats for each letter and the pieces are put together like a jigsaw puzzle to find the original DNA strand

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

  • crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods

Short-tandem Repeats (STRs)

  • sections of a chromosome in which DNA sequences are repeated
  • very short-sequence that is repeated can help identify species -number of repeats that occurs can help identify a person

Somatic cell cloning

  • commonly referred to as cloning, an embryo developed from the genome of a somatic cell
  1. Cultured adult cells taken from organisms
  2. UV destroys egg's nucleus and adult cell's nucleus placed in the cell
  3. electric shock to stimulate the cell and it develops into a clone

DNA Profiling

  • technique by which individuals can be identified and compared via their respective DNA profiles using different numbers of STRs at certain loci in satellite DNA in non-coding regions
  • used in forensic/criminal investigations and paternity testing

Bt corn crops and monarch butterflies

  • Dr. John Losey studied this
  • in his 1st experiment, he sprinkled Bt pollen and normal pollen on some leaves and not on others to determine their effects
  • found that Bt pollen was hurting the butterflies
  • studied natural conditions for more reliable results and found that it did not
  • most likely to harm larvae as they feed on milkweed the most