Frontiers of Biotechnology

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Frontiers of Biotechnology

• Genetic Engineering

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Whats a Clone?

• Clone
• A genetically identical copy of a gene OR of an
  organism.

Its Unnatural, isnt it?
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Cloning In Nature

• Plants
• Bacteria
• Identical Twins, Triplets
• Cell Division
• Asexual Reproduction of Single Celled Organisms

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Cloning by Humans before BioTech

• Plant propagation
• Regeneration (some lower order animals)

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Cloning Outcomes
What Cloning What Cloning
Does Do Does NOT Do
Creates a GENETICALLY Identical copy of the original Cloning Does NOT Create an Identical PHENOTYPE
Cloning Does NOT Copy MEMORIES PERSONALITY
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Cloning Potential Benefits

• Replacement Organs
• Using the patients own DNA creates organs that
  will not be rejected by the patients immune
  system.
• Saving Endangered species

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Cloning by Nuclear Transfer
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Recombinant DNA

• Uses Cloning, but of individual genes, NOT whole
  organisms
• Genetic Engineering
• Refers to changing an organisms DNA
• Recombinant DNA
• Is DNA from different organisms, combined into
  one organism

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Genetically Engineering Bacteria

• PLASMIDS
• Common in Bacteria
• Rings/Loops of DNA
• Small Really Small
• Naturally Transfer Between Bacteria
• VERY Useful to Genetic Engineering

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Making Recombinant DNA
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Transgenic Organism Is Created
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Genetic Engineering Plants

• Insert Target Gene Into A Plasmid
• Insert Plasmid Into A Bacteria That Infects
  Plants.
• Infect The Plants
• Select Transformed Plants

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Genetic Engineering Animals

• Much More Difficult Than Plants
• Must Transform a Fertilized Egg
• If Successful, The Parents Will Pass The Gene To
  Their Offspring

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Benefits Of Transgenic Animals

• Allows Researchers To Model Human Disease In
  Animals
• Oncomous
• Diabetes
• Metabolic Diseases
• Gene Knockout
• Allows Scientists To Turn Off Selected Genes To
  Study Their Function.

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Are We Moving Too Fast?