Genetics engineering

Genetics engineering

It is a set of techniques that allow us to modify the DNA or an organism in order to change the information it contains.

Traditionally, humans have manipulated genomes indirectly by controlling breeding and selecting offspring with desired traits.

Biotecnology

• Biotechnology is technology that uses biological systems, living organisms or parts of this to develop or create different products. (Brewing and baking bread)

Genetic engineering tools

Enzymes are used to manipulate genes and cut, stick, synthesise and break down the molecules of nucleic acids. The most commonly used enzymes are the following:

Exonucleases. 

Exonucleases. These join to a nucleic acid and cut it up into individual nucleotides, starting from one end. This is how isolated nucleotides are obtained.

Endonucleases

Endonucleases. These cut the nucleic acid at intermediate points in the molecule, producing segments of nucleic acid of varying sizes

Restriction nucleases or restrictases. 

Restriction nucleases or restrictases. These cut the nucleic acid in places with specific base sequences, which are called restriction sites. The cut can produce a straight cut with ‘blunt’ ends or an overhang with ‘sticky’ ends.

Polymerases

Polymerases. These can be DNA or RNA. They add nucleotides to a strand, provided that there is a template strand.

Transferases

Transferases. These add nucleotides to one end of RNA or DNA in a single strand without the need for a template strand.

Ligases

Ligases. These catalyse the union of two strands of DNA, two molecules of RNA or two molecules of single-stranded DNA.

Multiple Choice

Genetic engineering is....

• a set of techniques that allow us create new organisms

• a set of techniques that allow us modify DNA of an organism

• a set of techniques that allows us to obtain new biological products.

• All anwers are correct

Genetic engineering techniques

Genetic engineering techniques are very varied and are constantly developing. They include the hybridisation of nucleic acids, the creation of transgenic organisms and various types of cloning.

Transgenic organism

Transgenic or genetically modified organisms (GMO) are useful for medical research, cell biology and agriculture. A transgenic organism has had a foreign or modified gene inserted into it from another cell or organism and is able to transmit it to its offspring.

Multiple Choice

A transgenic organism ...

• is known as a genetically modified organism (GMO)

• Is known as a genetically changed organism (GCO)

• Is known as a genetically modified individual (GMI)

• Is known as a genomic modified organism (GMO)

 Mutant

 Mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism

Multiple Choice

A transgenic organism is the same that a mutant organism

• True

• False

Some of the best known techniques

• Recombinat DNA tecnology

• PCR

• Cloning

Recombinant DNA tecnology

It consists of isolating a gene of an organism and inserting it into a different one ( a recptor or host)

PCR

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detai

Cloning

The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone.