Tag: biotechnology and genetic engineering

Transgenic hirudin is obtained from Brassica napus.

• Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with genetically modified (GM) food including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.
  
• One of the first cases of human benefit from genetic engineering was the production of human insulin in bacterial cells. Previous to this, diabetic patients were treated with pig insulin. Use of bacterially-derived human insulin has substantially reduced the number of animals used to produce insulin and also significantly reduces adverse reactions in diabetic patients as the molecule is identical to human insulin. Since the successful production of genetically engineered insulin, many other human proteins have been produced in this manner. This technology has improved millions of lives.
  

Genetic engineering is a technique to alter the chemistry of genetic material (DNA and RNA), to introduce these into the host organisms and thus change the phenotype and genetic makeup of the organism.

Cloning is the process of generating a genetically identical copy of a cell or an organism. Cloning happens all the time in nature for example, when a cell replicates itself asexually without any genetic alteration or recombination.

The first transgenic cow, Rosie was engineered for production of human protein-enriched more nutritional balanced milk (2.4 grams per litre). Rosie’s milk contains the human gene $\alpha$-lactalbumin; which makes statement A incorrect. Transgenic bull was produced for lactoferrin in their milk which has antimicrobial activity and is components of innate defence; statement B is incorrect. Animal rabbit models have been used to study pathophysiology and treatment of cardiovascular diseases which makes statement D correct. Transgenic mice for testing safety of polio vaccine before use in human; for the purpose, they are subject to GSK test which measures the safety of the vaccine; statement C is correct.

A plasmid is a small DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from a chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found in bacteria as small, circular, double-stranded DNA molecules. Plasmids carry only a few genes and exist independently of chromosomes, the primary structures that contain DNA in cells. Able to self-replicate, plasmids can be picked up from the environment and transferred between bacteria. Plasmids are used by their host organism to cope with stress-related conditions.

Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. The goal is to add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. Examples of genetically engineered (transgenic) organisms currently on the market include plants with resistance to some insects, plants that can tolerate herbicides, and crops with modified oil content. New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods to generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the DNA, and then inserting this construct into the host organism.