Design Your Own GenesA Unit on Genetic Engineering

Parameters• Grades: 9-12• AP Biology; Biotechnology Class, Biology 2

• Can use the full lesson plan• Honors Biology

• Can use full plan, but slightly simplified• Regular Biology

• A simplified version of this plan will be needed

• Time Needed• 10-12 days

Objectives• To review genetic principles, including DNA, DNA replication, Genetic Inheritance

(Knowledge Level-review)• To have students know what biotechnology is. (Knowing Level)• To have students know that genetic engineering is a branch of biotechnology, and

what genetic engineering is, and its history. (Knowing Level)• To have students understand how genetic engineering is done.

(Knowledge/Understanding level)• To have students know how genetic engineering is used in real world applications.

(Knowledge/Understanding level)• To have students compare the difference between natural selection, artificial

selection, and genetic engineering (Understanding Level)• To have students apply the knowledge that they have learned about genetic

engineering to create their own genetically modified organism. (Application Level)• After watching the video, “The Future of Food” students should be able to discuss

the pros and cons of genetic engineering in agriculture, and its implications affect the world around them. (Analyze/Evaluation Level)

• Students should be able to write an essay about their opinion of genetic modification as it applies to agriculture. (Analyze/Evaluation Level)

Standards• Illinois State Learning Standards:

Standards:12A- Stage G3; Stage J2;Stage J3;Stage J5. 12B- Stage I1.

• Goals: 13-B: 4d, 5d 4e, 5e

Time Line• Day 1 • Consists of reviewing what we had learned about in the DNA and Genetics units. The

information covered during the review would be relevant to the information needed for Genetic engineering. • A review worksheet would be done in class. (Obj. 1)

• Day 2• we would introduce the topic of genetic engineering by

• defining what biotechnology is, • how genetic engineering falls under biotechnology and its definition, • how genetic engineering is done (literally and through a comparison model), and how it

applies to real world applications. • This may take more than one day to accomplish, so an extra day would be added just

in case.• Students would take notes in class and have a homework assignment where they

would• compare the differences between natural selection, artificial selection, and genetic

engineering• as well as questions about what they had learned that day.

• (Obj 2-6).

• Day 3 would be an extra day for notes if needed, if it is not, we would skip ahead to Day 4.

• Day 4 would start the beginning of a 1-2 day in class activity. • groups of 2-4 students will be given an envelope containing the “Design Your Own Genes”

Activity worksheet, and certain materials. • In each envelope, they would be given a certain organism (corn, tomato, etc) that they

would have to modify, and what parameters (need to make it cold resistant, etc). • Each group would have a booklet of all the genetic material available with a description of

what they did.• The booklet would also have what bacteria/yeasts are available to use as “factories”.

• They would then have to obtain the materials from the designated folders/bins, and attach the new DNA segment to the old DNA strand.

• After they make the DNA Strand, they would have to demonstrate putting it in the bacteria/yeast for replication, and then eventually into the cell of their organism.

• This activity would be done with the worksheet.• Students would have to create a poster about their genetically modified organism and

what they did, which they would have to present to the class. (Obj. 7)

• Day 5• would be an extra day for the activity if needed or an extra day to work on the poster.

• Day 6 • would be a presentation day for their projects.

• Day 7 • Watch the video, “The Future of Food” with a guided worksheet. • This would take 2-3 days depending on class period length.• The entire video is needed to express what needs to be learned.

• Day 10/11:• A full day of discussion about the video. • First we would separate students into groups to discuss on their own, and discuss the

video and the pros and cons of genetic engineering and its implication on agriculture. • Then a full classroom discussion with students.• Their assignment would be to write a 2 page minimum essay on their opinions on genetic

engineering in regards to agriculture based on what they had learned the past two weeks.

Rationale

By doing a full unit that covers almost all of blooms taxonomy is so students what biotechnology is, how it is done, and how it impacts their world. This will help them be able to make an informed decision on an controversial issue. It will also help them learn the process system.

Lets Review

What is Biotechnology• In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use

of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment.

• Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. • When the first human beings realized that they could plant their

own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology

• The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology

• When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, with the use of yeast, they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists.

• The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology.

• Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. • Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed

into the cells of another organism. • As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human

molecules. • Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed. • And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before

existed.

Biotechnology Overview• Biotechnology seems to be leading a sudden new biological

revolution. • It has brought us to the brink of a world of "engineered" products that

are based in the natural world rather than on chemical and industrial processes.

• Biotechnology has been described as being Two-sided. • On one side, biotechnology techniques lets DNA to be manipulated to

transfer genes from one organism to another• On the other side, biotechnology involves fairly new technologies

whose consequences are unproven and should be met with caution.• There is a common misconception that biotechnology only refers to

DNA and genetic engineering.• It has been emphasized that the techniques of DNA science as the

"end-and-all" of biotechnology. • This is not true, Humans have been manipulating life for millennia.

Where did Biotechnology Begin?• Certain practices that we would now classify as

applications of biotechnology have been in use since man's earliest days. • Nearly 10,000 years ago

• Our ancestors were producing wine, beer, and bread by using fermentation, a natural process in which the biological activity of one-celled organisms plays a critical role.

• Discovery of the fermentation process allowed early peoples to produce foods by allowing live organisms to act on other ingredients.

• Our ancestors also found that, by manipulating the conditions under which the fermentation took place, they could improve both the quality and the yield of the ingredients themselves.

• Crop Improvement• When early man went through the crucial transition from nomadic hunter

to settled farmer, cultivated crops became vital for survival. • These primitive farmers, although ignorant of the natural principles at

work, found that they could increase the yield and improve the taste of crops by selecting seeds from particularly desirable plants. • Farmers long ago noted that they could improve each succeeding year's

harvest by using seed from only the best plants of the current crop. • Plants that, for example, gave the highest yield, stayed the healthiest during

periods of drought or disease, or were easiest to harvest tended to produce future generations with these same characteristics.

• Through several years of careful seed selection, farmers could maintain and strengthen such desirable traits.

• The possibilities for improving plants expanded as a result of Gregor Mendel's investigations in the mid-1860s of hereditary traits in peas. • Once the genetic basis of heredity was understood, the benefits of cross-

breeding, or hybridization, became apparent: plants with different desirable traits could be used to cultivate a later generation that combined these characteristics.

• An understanding of the scientific principles behind fermentation and crop improvement practices has come only in the last hundred years.• But the early, crude techniques, even without the benefit of

sophisticated laboratories and automated equipment, were a true practice of biotechnology guiding natural processes to improve man's physical and economic well-being.

• Harnessing Microbes for Health• the distinguished German scientist who invented the Buchner

Funnel made the vital discovery (in 1897) that enzymes extracted from yeast are effective in converting sugar into alcohol. • Major outbreaks of disease in overcrowded industrial cities led

eventually to the introduction, in the early years of the present century, of large-scale sewage purification systems based on microbial activity.

• By this time it had proved possible to generate certain key industrial chemicals (glycerol, acetone, and butanol) using bacteria.

• Another major beneficial legacy of early 20th century biotechnology was the discovery by Alexander Fleming • (in 1928) Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, an antibiotic derived

from the mold Penicillium.Mass production of penicillin was achieved in the 1940s.

• However, the revolution in understanding the chemical basis of cell function that stemmed from the post-war emergence of molecular biology was still to come. • It was this exciting phase of bioscience that led to the recent explosive

development of biotechnology.

Biotechnology in the 20th Century

• Biotechnology at the beginning of the20th century began to bring industry and agriculture together. • During World War I, fermentation processes that were

developed produced acetone from starch and paint solvents for the rapidly growing automobile industry.

• Work in the 1930s was geared toward using surplus agricultural products to supply industry instead of imports or petrochemicals.

• The advent of World War II brought the manufacture of penicillin.• The biotechnical focus moved to pharmaceuticals.

• The "cold war" years were dominated by work with microorganisms • This was in preparation for biological warfare, as well as antibiotics

and fermentation processes.

Biotechnology in Modern Times

• Biotechnology is currently being used in many areas • DNA fingerprinting is becoming a common practice in forensics.

• Similar techniques were used recently to identify the bones of the last Czar of Russia and several members of his family.

• Production of insulin and other medicines is accomplished through cloning of vectors that now carry the chosen gene.

• Immunoassays are used not only in medicine for drug level and pregnancy testing, but also by • farmers to aid in detection of unsafe levels of pesticides, herbicides, and

toxins on crops and in animal products. • These assays also provide rapid field tests for industrial chemicals in

ground water, sediment, and soil. • In agriculture, genetic engineering is being used to produce plants

that are resistant to insects, weeds, and plant diseases.

• New biotechnological techniques have permitted scientists to manipulate desired traits. • Prior to the development of the methods of recombinant DNA,

scientists were limited to the techniques of their time • Today's biotechnology has its origins in all three major areas of

science• The eruption in new techniques has lead to three branches of

biotechnology: • genetic engineering • diagnostic techniques • Cell & tissue techniques.

• In this class, we are going to be focusing on genetic engineering.

Genetic Engineering• Genetic engineering is a process in which recombinant DNA

technology is used to introduce desirable traits into organisms. • A genetically engineered animal is one that contains a

recombinant DNA construct producing a new trait. • While conventional breeding methods have long been used to

produce more desirable traits in animals, genetic engineering is a much more targeted and powerful method of introducing desirable traits into animals.

Genetic Engineering At a Glance

• http://youtu.be/AEINuCL-5wc

• Example:

• You have a Blue Sweater.

But you want a red sweater

So How do we get it? Lets use the Idea of Genetic engineering to Solve this.

• Well Raspberries are red

So lets extract the “red gene from the raspberry.

• First we break up the raspberries, to break up the cells

• Then we filter the raspberry puree to get only the parts we want.

• Now we got the red color, but if you pour it right on to the blue sweater

You Ruin It, as it does not dye it correctly

• If you pour it directly onto the sewing machine that makes the sweater….

It would stop working

So……How do we get it so we can make the sweater?

• We need to find something that will help us get to for a sweater.

• How Can we do that?

• Well, sweaters are usually made up of woven together wool yarn. • So….Where can we find wool?

Well Sheep produce wool

• So… we prepare the wool and turn it into yarn.

• Once we have a lot of red wool yarn spools produced….

We can now put it into the Sweater sewing machine to make the new sweaters in the red color

• And now we have sweaters in red using the same machine that made the blue sweaters

Design Your Own Genes Activity

Working in a group, you will create your own genetically modified organism. • Get into groups of 4 • Your group will be handed a card with an company name and

group number. You will also be given your student worksheet• You are to go find a packet at station 1 that matches your

company name and group number• Send only one member to obtain that packet

• Your company packet will have information on what organism and problem you will be working on.

• Fill out the questions on the Student worksheet

• Design Your Own Genes- Poster Presentation • You will have to design a poster to present the information

about your newly created Genetically Modified Organism. • The Poster Must Include:

• The company you worked for• What your organism was• What you needed to modify• Some previous knowledge about the problem• Where did you obtain your desired gene• Where the gene was located with your organism• Extraction process• What helper organism you used.• An model of your created gene within the cell (using the cell you made

during the activity.

The Presentation Must:

Cover all the information above; as well as:What will the new gene do for your organism.The process that you used.

Everyone Must speak You will be graded on your information presented on the poster and in your presentation. Each member of your group will receive a group and individual grade.

References• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://library.thinkquest.org/3564/Cells/cell93.gif&imgrefurl=http://library.thinkquest.org/

3564/gallery.html&h=475&w=437&sz=182&tbnid=4sm2mz6vipbhaM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=83&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcorn%2Bcell%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=corn+cell&docid=876kquX_8atCQM&sa=X&ei=79JvTpaCCe__sQKOuI2_CQ&ved=0CDgQ9QEwBA

• Genetic Engineering Animation. Dir. Tfbooker. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Atlas Foundation. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEINuCL-5wc>.

• "Genetic Engineering." U S Food and Drug Administration Home Page. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/GeneticEngineering/default.htm>.

• "[GTPS] Ochrobactrum Anthropi ATCC 49188 Chromosome 1 Genome Viewer." Gene Trek in Prokaryote Space (GTPS). Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://gtps.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/single/index.php?spid=Oant_ATCC49188>.

• "Overview and Brief History." Access Excellence @ the National Health Museum. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Overview_and_Brief_History.php>.

• "The Story of Corn - Quick Facts." Welcome to the CampSilos Home Page. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.campsilos.org/mod3/students/index.shtml>.

• Topography of the Chromosome Set - An Introduction to Genetic Analysis - NCBI Bookshelf. Digital image. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22050/figure/A523/?report=objectonly>.