Question | Answer |
Biotechnology? | using or altering organisms to achieve specific goals. |
Selective breeding? | select parents with characteristics that you want in the offspring. |
Genetic engineering? | manipulation of genes for practical purposes. |
Plasmid? | extra circle of DNA in bacteria; holds a small amount of DNA. |
Transgenic animal? | has recombinant DNA inside them. |
Recombinant DNA? | DNA that has been altered to include other genes. |
Gene cloning? | making multiple, identical copies of a particular piece of DNA. |
Who developed PCR and when? | Kary Mullis; 1983. |
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)? | a technique for quickly amplifying DNA. |
5 Steps of PCR? | 1.Add DNA, primers,nucleotide bases, and DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus. 2. Heat (DNA separate into single strands), 3. Cool (primers bind to DNA), 4. DNA polymerase uses nucleotide bases to replicate more DNA. 5. Repeat step 2 & 3 many times. |
Primer? | a short sequence of DNA that is complementary to the beginning and end of your DNA sequence to be amplified. |
Thermus aquaticus? | a bacteria that inhabits hot springs and can survive high temperatures up to 95C. |
Why would you use a PCR test? | 1. test embryos for diseases, 2. to rule out or include a suspect in a criminal case, 3. Identification (disasters), 4. Identify products made from endangered animals, 5. Identify diseases, 6. Amplify a particular piece of DNA to be worked with. |
Restriction enzymes? | enzymes that cut DNA in specific locations. |
Restriction site? | the particular nucleotide sequence that a restriction enzyme looks for and cuts at |
Restriction fragment? | DNA that has been cut into pieces by a restriction enzyme. |
Sticky ends? | ends of a restriction fragment are single stranded; used to recombine DNA. |
Blunt end? | ends of restriction fragment are double stranded. |
DNA ligase? | attaches pieces of DNA together. |
Vector? | DNA molecule that can carry foreign DNA into a new cell and replicate there. |
Plasmid? | extra circle of DNA in bacteria; holds up to 15 kb of DNA. |
1 Kilobase (kb)? | 1000 bases of DNA. |
Bacteriophage? | a virus that only infects bacteria; holds up to 90 kb. |
Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)? | large, fake prokaryotic chromosome; holds up to 500 kb. |
Yeast artificial chromosome (YAC)? | large, fake eukaryotic chromosome; holds up to 2,000 kb. |
Human artificial chromosome (HAC)? | small, fake human chromosome to potentially be used in human cells; holds up to 10,000 kb. |
5 Steps for cloning a eukaryotic gene into a bacterial plasmid? | 1. Isolation of plasmid and eukaryotic DNA, 2. Insert gene into plasmid, 3. Insert plasmid into bacteria, 4. Clone bacteria w/ foreign genes, 5. Screen for particular eukaryotic gene. |
Genomic library? | contains the entire organism's DNA that has been cut into small pieces with various restriction enzymes. |
cDNA library? | contains only the protein coding genes of a particular cell or tissue type. |
Reverse transcription? | making DNA from mRNA. |
Do bacteria and viruses do recombination naturally? | YES |
Transgenic animal? | has recombinant DNA inside them. |
Flavor savor tomato? | genetically altered to not spoil as fast. |
Insect resistant cotton? | genetically altered so bole weevils don't like the taste of the cotton bole; farmers don't have to use as much pesticide to control the bole weevils. |
Corn? | resistant to root worms because of a bacterial toxin that kills the root worms; but Monarch butterfly caterpillars also harmed. |
Soy bean plants? | contain extra peanut protein; removed from the market because people allergic to peanuts are allergic to modified soy beans. |
Rice? | contains more vitamin A for good vision. |
Bacteria? | make human clotting factors, purify, and then inject. |
Sheep? | produce insulin in their milk. |
T or F. Many people think that transgenic crops will accidentally breed with standard crops creating something like a weed? | TRUE. |
T or F. Not many people worry about transgenic species adversely affecting native organisms? | FALSE...they do worry. |
Most transgenic stuff was designed to do what two things? | Either use less pesticide or produce more food. |
Endangered animals? | already freezing embryos; hope to freeze tissue sample and bring back to life. |
Scientists have cloned an endangered Asian animal known as what? | a guar (an Asian ox). |
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)? | testing embryos for genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis and Tay Sachs. |
To repair damaged tissues or replace organs, what would you use? | embryonic stem cells. |
To fix Parkinson's Disease? | Implant fetal cells. |
T or F. In rats, they have repaired severed spinal cords with rat embryonic stem cells; also muscle stem cells to fix muscular dystrophy? | TRUE |
In what year did scientists put some human embryonic stem cells into damaged but living pig hearts? What was the outcome? | 2004. The human cells eventually started beating. |
T or F. They have had no luck putting human embryonic stem cells into damaged, human retinas and restoring vision? | FALSE...they have had success. |
T or F. Embryonic stem cells are prone to developing into cancers? | TRUE. |
Cloning? | making genetically identical organism. |
Embryo splitting? | cut one embryo in half to produce 2 genetically identical embryos. |
Multipotent Stem Cells? | cell capable of being any cell of a particular tissue type; adults have these. |
Pluripotent Stem Cells? | can become any cell in the body; embryos are these. |
Dolly? | clone of an adult sheep cell; 1 clone out of 276 altered embryos. |
Human cloning? | it is illegal to use federal funds to make an embryo that will be destroyed; although genetically identical, different environments will make clones different. |
therapeutic cloning? | uses genetic material from a patient's own cell to fix a diseased organ ; no new human is produced. |
Reproductive cloning? | to implant a cloned embryo into a woman's uterus leading to the birth of a cloned baby. |
Technical problems for cloning? | 1. The cells Dolly was made from were actually mammary/breast tissue., 2. Dolly was 1 out of 276 altered embryos (many deformed), 3. We don't know that human cells with react same way, 4. find surrogate mom, 5. environment affects genes. |
Carrier screen? | Identifies heterozygotes for a disease; many Jewish populations do carrier screens to check for the recessive Tay Sachs allele. |
Prenatal test? | detects mutant gene in a fetus for a condition present in the family; if your first child has cystic fibrosis, you can do prenatal testing on the second fetus. |
Prenatal screen? | tests embryos or fetuses from a population for increased risk of a condition; a pregnant woman's blood is tested for elevated levels of a protein indicating increased risk for a neural tube defect. |
Newborn screen? | population wide testing for treatable inborn errors of metabolism; children with PKU put on special diet lacking phenylalanine. |
Diagnostic test? | confirms a diagnosis based on symptoms; genetic testing confirms an earlier diagnosis as cystic fibrosis. |
Predisposition test? | detects alleles associated with an illness, but is not diagnostic; BRCA1 confers susceptibility to breast cancer but doesn't guarantee you will get breast cancer. |
Predictive test? | detects mutation with adult onset in an individual at high risk based on family history; a healthy person is tested for Huntington's disease because one parent has the disease. |
Genetic counseling? | explains single gene inheritance patterns, recurrence risks, multifactorial disorders, prenatal diagnosis. |
T or F? Amniocentesis and other genetic tests usually test for a small number of diseases and are no guarantee that the child will be healthy? | TRUE |
T or F? If 2 carriers' first child has a recessive disease, there is no guarantee the next 3 children will be healthy. | TRUE |
Physicians have a "duty to warn" others if... | 1. harm from keeping it outweighs the harm of breaching it, 2. relatives at risk can be identified, 3. failure to warn places the person at great risk of harm. |
T or F? A "duty to warn" other conflicts with many privacy laws, including Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act revised in 2003. | TRUE |
Treatment for genetic diseases? | 1.No treatment--Huntington's dz, 2. treat symptoms using current medicines--enzymes + back slapping for cystic fibrosis, 3. Replace missing proteins w/materials from donors--blood transfusions for sickle cell anemia. (#4-#5 continued on next card). |
Treatment for genetic diseases? (Part 2--answers 4-5) | 4. Obtain pure proteins using recombinant DNA technology--human genes are inserted into bacterial plasmids to make insulin, human growth factor, 5. deliver replacement genes using gene therapy--human genes inserted into a human to make the correct protein |
ex vivo gene therapy? | remove cells, fix them in a lab, and return genetically altered cells to original location. |
in situ gene therapy? | a vector delivers functional DNA to correct spot in body. |
in vivo gene therapy? | a vector delivers functional DNA to the entire body. |
Germline gene therapy? | alters the DNA of a sperm or egg; fixes the children. |
Somatic gene therapy? | alters only the cells affected by the illness; fixes the individual. |
Why are most gene therapy vectors viruses? | because viruses naturally insert DNA into chromosomes. |
Adeno-associated virus? | inserts into specific chromosomal sites, long term expression, nontoxic, but carries a small amount of DNA. |
Adenovirus? | carries large amount of DNA, short term expression, provokes immune response. |
Herpes virus? | long term expression, infects nervous tissue. |
Retrovirus? | long term expression, nontoxic, imprecise insertion. |
Gene therapy target tissues? | 1. endothelium, 2. skin, 3. muscle, 4. liver, 5. lungs, 6. nervous tissue, 7. cancer |
Scientists have had some success treating Severe Combined Immune Deficiency (SCID) using _________ | gene therapy. |
3 out of 10 boys treated for SCID developed _____________ after being inserted with proto-oncogene? | leukemia |
Gene therapy: endothelium? | insert genes to fix hemophilia, diabetes, pituitary dwarfism. |
Gene therapy: skin? | grows well in lab; insert genes to fix skin cancers. |
Gene therapy: muscle? | easily accessible, but doesn't normally do mitosis; insert genes to fix muscular dystrophy. |
Gene therapy: liver? | can regenerate; insert genes to fix familial hypercholesterolemia. |
Gene therapy: lungs? | virus sprayed into lungs; insert genes to fix cystic fibrosis and hereditary emphysema. |
Gene therapy: nervous tissue? | hard to reach and doesn't normally do mitosis; insert genes to fix Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries. |
Gene therapy: cancer? | 1) insert a virus into the cancer, the virus spreads through actively dividing cells, use antiviral medicine to kill virally infected/tumor cells. |
Gene therapy: cancer (antigen)? | 2) find an antigen that is expressed only in cancer cells and make a vaccine to that antigen. |