3.5. Genetic modification and biotechnology

http://media.boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pear.jpg

Miltiadis-Spyridon Kitsos

Platon IB Diploma

Genetic modification

The transfer of genes from one species to another. This will allow the

transformation of the recipients, having now new properties.

https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/952

03/genetic-code-RNA.png

Remember that the genetic code is universal

TASK: Explain briefly this concept and its implications

In this sense a eukaryotic gene may be

transferred and expressed in a bacterium

Applications in medicine - insulin

http://proteopedia.org/wiki/index.php/Molecular_Playgrou

nd/Insulin

Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by the

beta-cells of the pancreas that regulates the

metabolism of carbohydrates.

regulates absorption of glucose from

the blood

the muscles,

fat cells

The Role of Insulin in the Human Body

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYH1deu7-4E

Applications in medicine - insulin

Deficiency of insulin leads to

diabetes a group of metabolic

diseases characterized by increased

high blood sugar levels.

Diabetes type 1 absence of insulin

producing cells

Diabetes type 2 decreased

sensitivity of insulin receptors to

insulin.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diabetes_mellitus_world_map_-_DALY_-_WHO2004.svg#/media/File:Diabetes_mellitus_world_map_-_DALY_-_WHO2004.svg

Many diabetes patients require daily

administration of insulin (e.g., 30 minutes

before every meal)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Insulin_pen.JPG

Applications in medicine - insulinIsolating the required gene sequence

Do you remember that eukaryotic genes have introns? (revision).

Bacteria do not have the enzyme powerhouse to remove introns. How we may insert

eukaryotic gene sequences in bacteria without introns?

Building a cDNA (complementary DNA) molecule

http://bio1510.biology.gatech.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cDNA_cloning.jpg http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/9834092339/student_view0/chapter18/cdna.html

Applications in medicine - insulinIsolating the required gene sequence

Use of restriction endonucleases

Enzymes of bacterial origin that cut

DNA molecules at a limited number of

specific locations.

The particular DNA sequences identified

by restriction enzymes are called

restriction sites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA5fyWJh5S0

Reece Campbell Biology 9th edition p. 394

Reece Campbell Biology 9th edition p. 394

Applications in medicine - insulin

Can we produce cheap insulin using biotechnology and genetic engineering?

http://www.di.uq.edu.au/sparq/images/proj4afig7.jpg

insulin gene

Bacterial plasmid (cloning vector)

“sticky ends”

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1IYomRKn1QM/TDx0eBTDmyI/AAAAAAAAABc/sbJf664uKKU/s1600/100000000000052F000003E8CBEA8CE5.jpg

Reece Campbell Biology 9th edition p. 394

Applications in medicine - insulin

Moving to industrial production

http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/diabetes_16plus/diabetes8.cfm?coSiteNavigation_allTopic=1

http://3.imimg.com/data3/UU/MY/MY-2056557/fermentor-bioreactor-design-500x500.png

https://ucdbiotech.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/roche_032.jpg?w=450

Moving beyond the production of insulin

Tumor necrosis factor. Treatment for

certain tumor cells

Interleukin-2 (IL-2). Cancer treatment,

immune deficiency, and HIV

Prourokinase. Treatment for heart attacks

Other major biotechnology products related

to medicine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYsaosI26oQ

http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072556781/student_view0/chapter31/animation_quiz_2.html

Taxol. Treatment for ovarian cancer

Interferon. Treatment for cancer and viral

infections

Genetically modified organismsGenetically modified or transgenic

Organisms that have been altered genetically by

the insertion of genes of other species so as to

add desirable properties.

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/sci

ence/pharming/

Allott, Andrew, and David Mindorff. Biology: Course Companion. Oxford:

Oxford UP, 2010. 125. Print.

http://cls.casa.colostate.edu/transgeniccrops/animation.html

http://highered.mheducation.com/olcweb/cgi/plug

inpop.cgi?it=swf::535::535::/sites/dl/free/0072437

316/120078/bio40.swf::The+Ti+Plasmid

Genetically modified organisms

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/05/gm-crops-online-D-1.jpg

Some statistics

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2013/05/gm-crops-online-C-2.jpg

http://fstjournal.org/sites/default/files/imagepicker/21/G

M1_Pie_chart_Top_six_countries.jpg

http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec006group5/files/this_map.jpg

Assessment of benefits and risks

BenefitsBenefits

Environmental

• Bt crops: less pesticides used.

• Increased shelf-life of fruits – decreased use and wastage.

• Reduced need for plowing and spraying thus reducing fuel consumption

Health

• Increased nutritionalvalue.

• No naturally-occuringallergens or toxins.

• Edible vaccines

Agricultures

• Increased resistance to drought, cold and salinity may expand cultivation range and yield.

• Facilitate the use of herbicides.

• Crops resistent to viruses.

http://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food?language=en

Assessment of benefits and risks

BenefitsRisks

Environmental

• Toxins may affect not targeted organisms.

• Development of super resistant weeds by transfer of herbicide resistance genes.

• Reduction in biodiversity as food chains may be affected.

Health

• Proteins produced by introduced genes might be toxic or allergic to humans or livestock

• Development of antibiotic resistance genes

• Mutations not previously assessed.

Agricultures

• Accidental development of higher crop density can not be easily controlled.

• Development of toxin-resistant pests (natural selection)

• No strains adapted to local conditions may be developed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=21&v=RQkQXyiynYs

The counter argument

The effect of GMOs – the case of Bt corn on

monarch butterflies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mcjnx8sVh8

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons

/6/63/Monarch_In_May.jpg

In 1999 a a published research on the journal

Nature concluded that monarch butterfly

caterpillars are killed by the toxins produced

by Bt corn. Apparently, the caterpillars would

die when consuming the pollen grains of the

Bt corn deposited on the leaves of the

common milkweed.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/Plants/Co

mmon%20Milkweed/6-12-15.jpg

The effect of GMOs – is it a controversy ?

In the 2001 the National Academy of Sciences published a major risk assessment study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which ran a series of articles evaluating the effects of biotech corn on monarch butterflies in the wild.

The conclusion of this research was the impact off Bt-corn’s impact on monarch butterfly populations is “negligible.”

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/03/25/monsanto-v-monarch-butterflies/

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/01/17/ted-talks-and-videos-on-the-science-of-gmos/

See also

The effect of GMOs – is it a controversy ?

In the 2001 the National Academy of Sciences published a major risk assessment study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which ran a series of articles evaluating the effects of biotech corn on monarch butterflies in the wild.

The conclusion of this research was the impact off Bt-corn’s impact on monarch butterfly populations is “negligible.”

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/03/25/monsanto-v-monarch-butterflies/

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/01/17/ted-talks-and-videos-on-the-science-of-gmos/

See also

Cloning

Clones are groups of genetically identical organisms or genetically identical cells

deriving from a single original parent cell.

https://youtu.be/KIpcCyuypzg

https://youtu.be/sOBvRhXIJN4

Bacterial binary fusion leads to the creation of

clones

See how the cleavage of

the blastocyst in humans.

http://multiples.about.com/library/photoga

l/photos/blgal68.jpg

Human monozygotic twins

are also clones

Natural methods of cloning

Plants

Garlic bulbs are genetically identical and originate from

one original bulb that grows into a small plant.

Strawberries grow plantlets which develop

their own roots and leaves. They may

become independent plants.

http://topveg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/strawberry-plantlets.jpg

http://www.gardenseeker.com/herbs/images/Garlic%20-%20iStock_000018454020XSmall.jpg

Hydra a freshwater cnidarian is also

creating clones through budding (asexual

reproduction)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPAGISkO7E

Natural methods of cloning

Plants

Garlic bulbs are genetically identical and originate from

one original bulb that grows into a small plant.

Strawberries grow plantlets which develop

their own roots and leaves. They may

become independent plants.

http://topveg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/strawberry-plantlets.jpg

http://www.gardenseeker.com/herbs/images/Garlic%20-%20iStock_000018454020XSmall.jpg

Hydra a freshwater cnidarian is also

creating clones through budding (asexual

reproduction)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPAGISkO7E

Animals

Cloning embryos in animals

A. It is possible to break down

animal embryos artificially.

B. The resulting cells are pluripotent

and may develop into new

embryos

C. New embryos are implanted into

surrogate mothers.

D. The main drawback of the

method is that only few clones

may be produced since embryo

cells loose their pluripotency

early on.

E. In most cases artificial cleavage

is induced at the 8-cell stage.

Cloning in Xenopus – Sir Robert Gurdon

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2315664/bin/jcb1810178f01.jpg

Sir Robert Gurdon

Nobel Prize in Medicine 2012

https://encrypted-

tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A

Nd9GcS6VlpbeCpPWSALqcbSP

W1JuqI-

zrJg5efdjSNx6Bgs3uYOynUlOJBf

UYE

1. Isolate tadpole cells

3. Isolate nuclei

2. Isolate tadpole egg cells and remove nuclei

Enucleated egg cell+

Egg cells containing somatic cell nuclei

Development of Xenopus tissues

http://www.pollywogsworldoffrogs.com/pollys/xenopus-tadpoles.jpg

Cloning Dolly the sheep

Dolly was the first domesticated animal to be cloned. Dolly was born in 1996 at RoslinInstitute in Scotland and died 6 years later in 2003 from lung disease.

https://youtu.be/tELZEPcgKkE

http://scholarblogs.emory.edu/philosophy316/files/2014/01/Dolly-Process.jpg

https://youtu.be/4kBVjwyx5VA

Cloning resources

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/cloning/clickandclone/

1. Watch the process of enucleating an egg cell

2. An interactive animation on cloning

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/somatic-cell-nuclear-transfer-video

3. Read the following article: “Human stem cells created by cloning”

http://www.nature.com/news/human-stem-cells-created-by-cloning-1.12983

Slides taken fromStephen Taylor’s

Slides taken fromStephen Taylor’s

Slides taken fromStephen Taylor’s

http://www.stepsinbiology.eu