- making changes to the DNA code of a living organism

Standard 5c Students know how genetic engineering (biotechnology) is used to produce novel biomedical and agricultural products. Standard 5d Students know how basic DNA technology (restriction digestion by endonuleases, gel electrophoresis, ligation, and transformation) is used to construct recombinant DNA molecules. Standard 5e Students know how exogenous DNA can be inserted into bacterial cells to alter their genetic makeup and support expression of new protein products.

Old Style Genetic Engineering Selective breeding – using hybridization and inbreeding to pass desirable traits onto future generations (dogs) Modern Genetic Engineering Cloning – make an identical copy of DNA (a segment or the whole nucleus) PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) - to make many copies of a specific segment of DNA

- allows individual GENES to be studied

Step 1 – DNA extraction - use a restriction enzyme to cut DNA at a specific base sequence producing exogenous DNA fragments with “sticky ends”

Vectors – bacterial plasmids and viruses Plasmids – circular DNA molecule into which the exogenous gene is inserted -this DNA in the host cell makes the host cell produce something it normally would not Step 2 – Insertion - putting the exogenous DNA into a vector by matching “sticky ends”

Step 4 Grow many of the recombinant cells. - the product is extracted from the cells or the medium the cells are grown in - the product is then purified Step 3 - Transformation - host cells take up the recombinant DNA

Some of these commercially cultured products come from genes for : - human insulin - human growth hormone - blood clotting factors

In modern agriculture, this technology is used to insert genes that: - increase the productivity of food crops and animals - promote resistance to viruses, pests, and herbicides - promote robustness under harsh environmental conditions

5 Essential Questions - Biotechnology 1.What is genetic engineering or biotechnology? 2.Give examples of how biotechnology is used in medicine and in agriculture. 3. What is recombinant DNA? 4. Explain how recombinant DNA is made. Tell how restriction enzymes are used to put an exogenous gene into a plasmid. 5. What is electrophoresis? When and how is it used?