how is bacteria modified to make a product for us
1) plasmid extracted from bacterial cell & cut with restriction enzyme
2) isolated human gene spliced into plasmid
3) modified plasmid put back into bacterial cells
4) cells multiply in fermenter
5) produce product of gene
6) bacterial cells destroyed & product extracted
what is pharming ?
using GMOs to produce therapeutic proteins and vaccines
what is artificial selection?
selecting alleles from characteristics that are agriculturally valuable
how can foreign genes be inserted into plant cells?
- a bacterium that infects many species of plant
- minute pellets covered with DNA
- viruses
what is a vector
a length of DNA that carries the gene to be transferred
what is a marker gene?
a gene for antibiotic resistance that is incorporated
- > the antibiotic is toxic to plant cells at a high enough dose so the plants are incubated with the antibiotic, killing off any cells that haven’t taken up the new genes.
- > the only cells to survive are the ones that have taken up the new genes & are resistant
what is micropropagnation
GM plant cells being cultured in agar with nutrients and plant growth substances to produce new plants
what are health concerns of GM
transfer of antibiotic resistance to microbes
formation of harmful products by new genes
transfer of viruses from animals to humans
what are environmental issues of GM?
- transfer of genes to non target species (ie. cross pollination)
- breeding of superweeds
- increased use of chemicals in agriculture
what are the social issues?
who owns them?
