Genetic Engineering
Applications
Using your knowledge of genetic engineering,
explain how the plant and dog glow.
A genetically modified virus was
used to inject the new genetic
code directly into a stem cell
nucleus. That nucleus was then
inserted into a de-nucleated egg
cell and placed in a surrogate
mother. An eating, sleeping,
glowing (literally) puppy!!!
A firefly’s gene
(for the enzyme
luciferase) was
inserted into a
tobacco plant
cell, then that
cell was
cultured
producing
tobacco plants
that glow!!!
Transgenic
What does the word transgenic mean?


Trans = across
genic = the genes
Making organisms that contain genes from
other organisms.
Genetic engineering has spurred the
growth of a whole new branch of biology:
biotechnology!
Biotechnology
Knowledge of genetics is making possible
new fields of health care:


Finding genes which may have mutations that
can cause disease will aid in the development
of preventive measures to fight disease
Substances, such as hormones and enzymes,
from genetically engineered organisms may
reduce the cost and side effects of replacing
missing body chemicals.
Transgenic Microorganisms
Transgenic bacteria produce many
important substances for health and
industry, because they reproduce quickly
and are easy to grow:

Human forms of proteins, including insulin,
growth hormone, and clotting factor
Future Transgenic Microorganisms
In the future, transgenic microorganisms
may produce:


Substances to fight cancer
Raw materials for plastics or synthetic fibers
Transgenic Plants
Much of our food supply, especially beans and
corn, is transgenic or genetically modified (GM).

Many crop grown GM plants now contain genes that
produce a natural insecticide or resistance to
chemicals or diseases.
One of the greatest GM plant developed was a
rice plant that adds vitamin A to rice!
Future Transgenic plants
In the future, transgenic plants may
produce:


Human antibodies that can fight diseases
Foods resistant to rot and spoilage
Transgenic Animals
Used to study genes and
improve food supplies, for
example:


Mice with immune systems
similar to humans are used
to study how diseases may
affect humans.
Livestock with extra growth
hormone genes grow faster
and produce leaner meat
Future Transgenic Animals
In the future, transgenic animals may
produce:


Chickens resistant to bacterial infections that
cause food poisoning
Human proteins, for example, sheep and pigs
that produce human proteins in their milk.
Stem Cells
Stem cells are derived from human
embryos before the cells differentiate.
The embryonic stem cells can combine
with nuclei of differentiated tissue needed.
A new tissue can be cultured and used to
“heal” a person by replacing damaged
tissue.
Future Stem Cells?
Future stem cells could be used in
treating:

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Parkinson’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
Diabetes
Spinal Cord injuries
Cloning
Clone = member of a population of
genetically identical cells produced from a
single cell
Cloning unicellular organisms is easy, but
it took a long time for scientists to clone a
multicellular organism.

Sheep, cows, pig, mice and other mammals
have been cloned
Flowchart
Section 13-4
Cloning
A body cell is taken from a donor animal.
An egg cell is taken from a donor animal.
The nucleus is removed from the egg.
The body cell and egg are fused by electric shock.
The fused cell begins dividing, becoming an embryo.
The embryo is implanted into the uterus of a foster mother.
The embryo develops into a cloned animal.
Go to
Section:
Figure 13-13 Cloning of the First Mammal – Dolly!!!
Section 13-4
A donor cell is taken from
a sheep’s udder.
Donor
Nucleus
These two cells are fused
using an electric shock.
Fused Cell
Egg Cell
The nucleus of the
egg cell is removed.
An egg cell is taken from
an adult female sheep.
Cloned
Lamb
Embryo
The embryo
develops
normally into a
lamb—Dolly
Go to
Section:
The fused cell
begins dividing
normally.
Foster
Mother
The embryo is placed
in the uterus of a foster
mother.
Future Clones?
Clones are not necessarily transgenic, but
scientists hope to use cloning to make
copies of transgenic animals that produce
genetically engineered substances.
In the future, cloning could possibly save
endangered species.
Or possibly humans???  Ethical issues!!