Advances in Genetics

1. Advances in Genetics 7.2.b Mitochondria DNA is derived solely from the mother, making it possible the tracing of heritage from grandmothers to grandchildren with great certainty 7.2.e Students know DNA is the genetic material of living organisms and is located in the chromosomes of each cell.

2. Selective Breeding • Key concept: “Selective breeding, cloning, and genetic engineering are three methods for developing organisms with desirable trait.” • Selective breeding- the process of breeding organisms with desired traits • Inbreeding- crossing two individuals that have similar characteristics • Inbreeding increases the probability of having genetic disorders • Hybridization- breeders cross two genetically different individuals trying to get the best of both organisms

3. Cloning • Clone- an organism that has the exact same genes as the organism from which it was produced • You can clone some plants easily because all you do is cut a piece off and plant it- new plant is genetically identical to the original plant • Animals are more difficult to clone, they take the nucleus out of a body cell and use it to produce a new animal

4. Genetic Engineering • Genetic engineering- genes from one organism are put into the DNA of another • Genes have been inserted into animals (example- creating blood clotting protein to help people with hemophilia • Genes have been inserted into plants (example- creating crops that are resistant to pesticides • Gene therapy- inserting copies of a gene into a human’s cells • Concerns about the long-term effects of genetic engineering (crops harm environment or health problems in people ) • Genetic engineering can produce and improve medicines and foods.

5. Genetic Engineering • Scientists use genetic engineering to create bacterial cells that produce important human proteins such as insulin.

6. Learning About Human Genetics • Key concept: “Applications of DNA technology include studying the human genome in detail and identifying people.” • Genome- all the DNA in one cell of an organism • DNA finger printing is used to show if people are related using • Except for identical twins every person has different DNA fingerprints • Scientists use mitochondrial DNA, because it is almost identical to the mother, to determine the person’s identity

7. Human genome project • Project goals were to… • identify all the approximately 30,000-35,000 genes in human DNA • determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA • store this information in databases • improve tools for data analysis Scientists now know the DNA sequence of almost every human gene

8. Section 3: Advances in Genetics • What are three ways of producing organisms with desired traits? • What are two applications of DNA technology in human genetics?