GENETIC ENGINEERING

What is Genetic Engineering?

Changing the DNA in living organisms to create something new.
the artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or other nucleic acid
molecules in order to modify an organism or population of organisms.
Genetically Modified organisms are called transgenic organism; since genes are transferred from one organism
to another.
What Are the Advantages of Genetic Engineering?
1. It allows for a faster growth rate. Genetic engineering allows of plants or animals to be modified so
their maturity can occur at a quicker pace.
2. It can create an extended life. Genetic modification can help to create resistance to common forms of
organism death. Pest resistance can be included into the genetic profiles of plants so they can mature as a
crop without any further additives. Animals can have their genetic profiles modified to reduce the risks of
common health concerns that may affect the breed or species. This creates the potential for an extended
lifespan for each organism.
3. Specific traits can be developed. Plants and animals can have specific traits developed through genetic
engineering that can make them more attractive to use or consumption.
4. New products can be created. With genetic engineering, new products can be created by adding or
combining different profiles together. One example of this is to take a specific product, such as a potato,
and alter its profile so that it can produce more nutrients per kcal than without the genetic engineering.
5. Greater yields can be produced. Genetic engineering can also change the traits of plants or animals so
that they produce greater yields per plant. More fruits can be produced per tree, which creates a greater
food supply and more profits for a farmer.
6. Risks to the local water supply are reduced. Because farmers and growers do not need to apply as many
pesticides or herbicides to their croplands due to genetic engineering, fewer applications to the soil need
to occur. This protects the local watershed and reduces the risk of an adverse event occurring without
risking the yield and profitability that is needed.
7. It is a scientific practice that has been in place for millennia. Humans in the past may not have been
able to directly modify the DNA of a plant or animal in a laboratory, but they still practiced genetic
engineering through selective breeding and cross-species or cross-breeding. People would identify
specific traits, seek out other plants or animals that had similar traits, and then breed them together to
create a specific result. Genetic engineering just speeds up this process and can predict an outcome with
greater regularity.
What Are the Disadvantages of Genetic Engineering?
1. The nutritional value of foods can be less.
2. Pathogens adapt to the new genetic profiles.
3. There can be negative side effects that are unexpected.
4. The amount of diversity developed can be less favorable.
5. Copyrighted genetic engineering can have costly consequences.
6. This knowledge and technology can be easily abused.

Some Genetic Engineering Techniques

A. Artificial Selection
Artificial selection is distinct from natural selection in that it describes selection applied by humans
in order to produce genetic change. It is the basic method of genetic improvement programs for crop
plants or livestock.
 Types of Artificial Selection
1. SELECTIVE BREEDING
Selective breeding, also known as artificial selection, is a process used by humans to develop new
organisms with desirable characteristics. Breeders select two parents that have beneficial
phenotypic traits to reproduce, yielding offspring with those desired traits. Selective breeding can
be used to produce tastier fruits and vegetables, crops with greater resistance to pests, and larger
animals that can be used for meat.

2. HYBRIDIZATION
Two individuals with unlike characteristics are crossed to produce the best in both organisms.
An organism produced by interbreeding of two animals or plants of different species or of
genetically distinct populations within a species.

LIGER (Lion and Tiger)

ZONKEY (Zebra and Donkey)

3. INBREEDING
It is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are
closely related genetically.
The mating of individuals or organisms that are closely related through common ancestry, as
opposed to outbreeding, which is the mating of unrelated organisms. Inbreeding is useful in the
retention of desirable characteristics or the elimination of undesirable ones, but it often results in
decreased vigor, size, and fertility of the offspring because of the combined effect of harmful genes
that were recessive in both parents.
 B. 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. Researchers have cloned a wide range of biological materials,
including genes, cells, tissues and even entire organisms, such as a sheep.
How is cloning done?
A single cell is removed from a parent organism.
An entire individual is grown from that cell.
Remember one cell has all the DNA needed to make an entire organism.
Each cell in the body has the same DNA, but cells vary because different genes are turned on
in each cell.
How are genes cloned?
Researchers routinely use cloning techniques to make copies of genes that they wish to study. The procedure
consists of inserting a gene from one organism, often referred to as "foreign DNA," into the genetic material of a
carrier called a vector. Examples of vectors include bacteria, yeast cells, viruses or plasmids, which are small
DNA circles carried by bacteria. After the gene is inserted, the vector is placed in laboratory conditions that
prompt it to multiply, resulting in the gene being copied many times over.
Three Types of Artificial Cloning
1. Gene cloning or DNA Cloning
2. Reproductive Cloning
3. Therapeutic Cloning

1. Gene cloning or DNA Cloning

Gene cloning produces copies of genes or segments of DNA. Gene cloning, also known as DNA
cloning, is a very different process from reproductive and therapeutic cloning. The most notable and
exemplary example of gene cloning is the Dolly Experiment.
2. Reproductive Cloning
Reproductive cloning produces copies of whole animals.
3. Therapeutic Cloning
Therapeutic cloning produces embryonic stem cells for experiments aimed at creating tissues to
replace injured or diseased tissues.
* Gene cloning, also known as DNA cloning, is a very different process from reproductive and therapeutic
cloning. Reproductive and therapeutic cloning share many of the same techniques but are done for different
purposes.
Examples: Dolly was the first cloned mammal.
She was born in 1996 and died in 2003
She was 6 when she died, about half the usual age of a sheep.
What animals have been cloned?
Besides cattle and sheep, other mammals that have been cloned from somatic cells
include cat, deer, dog, horse, mule, ox, rabbit and rat. In addition, a rhesus monkey
has been cloned by embryo splitting.
Do cloned animals always look identical?
No. Clones do not always look identical. Although clones share the same genetic material, the environment also
plays a big role in how an organism turns out.
For example, the first cat to be cloned, named Cc, is a female calico cat that looks very different from her mother.
The explanation for the difference is that the color and pattern of the coats of cats cannot be attributed exclusively
to genes.
What are the potential applications of cloned animals?
Reproductive cloning may enable researchers to make copies of animals with the potential benefits for the fields
of medicine and agriculture. For instance, the same Scottish researchers who cloned Dolly have cloned other
sheep that have been genetically modified to produce milk that contains a human protein essential for blood
clotting. The hope is that someday this protein can be purified from the milk and given to humans whose blood
does not clot properly. Another possible use of cloned animals is for testing new drugs and treatment strategies.
The great advantage of using cloned animals for drug testing is that they are all genetically identical, which means
their responses to the drugs should be uniform rather than variable as seen in animals with different genetic make-
ups.
What are the potential drawbacks of cloning animals?
Reproductive cloning is a very inefficient technique and most cloned animal embryos cannot develop into healthy
individuals. For instance, Dolly was the only clone to be born live out of a total of 277 cloned embryos. This very
low efficiency, combined with safety concerns, presents a serious obstacle to the application of reproductive
cloning. Researchers have observed some adverse health effects in sheep and other mammals that have been
cloned. These include an increase in birth size and a variety of defects in vital organs, such as the liver, brain and
heart. Other consequences include premature aging and problems with the immune system.
C. GENE SPLICING
DNA is cut out of one organism and put into another organism. A trait will be transferred from one
organism to another. For example: the human insulin gene can be removed from a human cell.
It can be put into a bacterial cell. The bacterial will now make human insulin.