Definition: Changing the hereditary characteristics of organisms by adjusting the genetic material

1. Genetic Manipulation Definition: Changing the hereditary characteristics of organisms by adjusting the genetic material example: Making it possible for bacteria to produce human insulin By Ruba Safieddine

2. Genetic manipulation has both advantages and disadvantages. However it is not allowed in many countries because of its unknown (potentially dangerous) long term effects • Some forms of genetic manipulation are: -Selection -Recombinant DNA -Crossing -Cell Fusion -Cloning -Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) -Sequencing of DNA bases -Gel Electrophoresis -Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism

3. Selection • Selective breading of an organism that has a favourable trait with another so that the favourable trait is passed down to the next generation (Geilen & Neggers, 1991). • E.g. A mule is the result of the crossing of a horse and a donkey + =

4. Recombinant DNA • Substituting a gene from one organism to another by hybridization • DNA from one organism is cut up and the pieces are annealed to pieces from new DNA Crossing • Combining different desirable traits from to different organisms to form one new organism CellFusion • One cell is formed by combining two cells • This will allow a tomato cell and a potato cell to form a new plant • All points from (Geilen & Neggers, 1991)

5. Cloning • A process in which identical cells are formed from a single cell by asexual reproduction Example: Dolly the sheep Article: http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical/timeline/Dolly Video: http://videos.howstuffworks.com/tlc/29324-understanding-cloning-a-cow-video.htm • 2 Methods: -create a cell from the cell of another  cells are divided into segments which are inserted in a different surrogate mother -fertilized ovum is split into a number of cells which are separated  the nucleus is removed and the nucleus of another organism replaces it (Geilen & Neggers, 1991)

6. Agricultural Applications • Cloning the best plants produces healthier plants • Increasing the amount of milk a cow produces by 10% by using the hormone bovine somatotrophin (BST) (Di Giuseppe, Vavitsas, Ritter, and Fraser, 2003). Pro’s: -Could also give animals better protection against disease -Cloning of almost extinct animals -Cloning of bacteria that prevent pollution Con’s: -Increasing the number of a species can result in imbalance in ecosystem -Animals that do not economically benefit society may disappear

7. Industrial Applications • Production of human growth hormone for dwarfism (Microbial Genomics: Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology , 2000). • Endorphin (Painkiller) derived from bacteria (Microbial Genomics, 2000). • Gene Therapy -used to correct a mutated gene that could cause a genetic disorder  mutated gene may be replaced by a normal gene or by reverse mutation (Di Giuseppe, et al., 2003)

8. References Di Giuseppe, Maurice, Vavitsas, Angela, Ritter, Dr. Bob, & Fraser, Douglas (2003). Biology 12. Canada: Thomson Nelson. Gielen, Jeroen and Neggers (1991). Genetic Manipulation. Retrieved March 28, 2009, from ThinkQuest Web site: http://library.thinkquest.org/17498/I3.htm Microbial Genomics: Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (2000). Microbial Genomics. Human Genome Program, U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from <http://microbialgenomics.energy.gov/primer/science_biotech.shtml>.