12.1: Biotechnology
1. Biotechnology the use of natural biological systems to create a product desired by humans
a. manipulating the genes of bacteria, plants and/or animals
b. transgenic organism = organism which has received DNA from another organism
2. Recombinant DNA Technology
a. rDNA DNA from 2 or more different sources
b. vector piece of DNA that acts as a carrier for the foreign DNA
example: plasmid (small, accessory loop of DNA found in bacteria)
c. two enzymes needed to make rDNA
(1) restriction enzyme cuts DNA at specific sites which are palindromes
(2) ligase “glues” the foreign DNA into an opening in a cut plasmid
d. rDNA is placed inside bacterial cells
e. as the bacteria replicate the plasmid, the gene is cloned
f. retrieve protein product from cloned gene
3. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
a. technique used to create billions of copies of a segment of DNA in a test tube in a matter of hours
b. PCR amplifies a specific target of DNA (usually a few hundred bases in length)
c. components for PCR
(1) DNA polyermase – replicates DNA
(2) primers – short RNA sequences which provide a point of attachment for the enzyme DNA polymerase
(3) a supply of nucleotides
(4) DNA target sequence
d. Thermal cycling one cycle consists of 3 steps
(1) 95C = denaturation of DNA
• breaks hydrogen bonds
• creates single strands of DNA
(2) between 50 C and 60 C
• anneal (attach) primers
(3) 72 C = DNA extension
• DNA polymerase adds complimentary bases to each of the single DNA strands
e. amount of DNA doubles with each cycle
f. most PCR runs include 35 – 40 cycles producing billions of copies of the DNA target
g. developed by Kary Mullis in 1985
h. automated PCR is being used by virtually every crime lab/biotech lab in the country
, 4. Taq polymerase
a. DNA polymerase extracted from bacteria, Thermus aquaticus, in the hot springs in Yellowstone
National Park
b. enzyme tolerates the high temperatures used during PCR
5. DNA Fingerprinting
a. DNA profile based on non-coding DNA sequences called STRs
b. STR short tandem repeat sequences
c. DNA fingerprints are unique
(1) people differ by how many times the equence is repeated
(2) the greater the number of repeats, the longer the DNA segment
d. steps
(1) obtain DNA sample
(2) perform PCR to amply target DNA
(3) run gel electrophoresis
6. Gel electrophoresis
a. components
(1) electrophoresis chamber
(2) power supply
(3) agarose gel
(4) DNA fragments
b. when the electricity is turned on, the DNA will move towards
the POSITIVE electrode
c. smaller fragments will move faster than larger ones
7. uses of DNA fingerprints
a. medicine
(1) identify the presence of a viral infection
(2) identify mutated gene responsible for cancer
b. forensic science
(1) identify a criminal based on DNA evidence
(2) identity of human remains
(3) verify parentage
12.2: Stem Cells and Cloning
1. zygotes divides by mitosis to produce a full grown organism
a. the adult human body consists of 37 trillion specialized cells
b. each cell consists of exactly the same 46 chromosomes
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