Genetic Engineering uses Recombinant DNA Technology
Deliberate modification of an organism's
genetic information by directly changing its genome
Accomplished by methods collectively known as
recombinant DNA technology, the basic strategy of
which is to move the gene of interest from one genome
to another utilizing in vitro recombination of DNA
molecules
Molecular Cloning
Isolating DNA from organism of origin and
fragmenting it with restriction enzymes which
normally protect bacterial cells by destroying
(restricting) bacterial virus or plasmid DNA
Introducing DNA fragments into a cloning
vector (plasmid or bacterial virus) for cloning
(increasing in number) and for transfer of genes
(contained in fragments of DNA) from one cell to
another
Transferring the recombinant DNA molecule into a
host organism so many copies can be made
Transferring the copies into the organism of
choice (the one you want to genetically modify)
Development of Genetic Engineering Concepts and Techniques
Mullis developed polymerase
chain reaction (PCR)
technique, which revolutionized making copies of DNA molecules and therefore paved the
way to modern analysis of DNA sequences
Venter, Smith and
others sequenced the first bacterial chromosome (Haemophilus influenzae)
animals - increasing growth rates via
transfer of genes from fast-growing, but less popular
food animals into slow-growing, popular food animals
(e.g., carp genes into trout or salmon)
plants - insertion of genes for resistance
to pesticides, for nitrogen-fixation, for amino acid
synthesis and utilization
Industrial
- production of proteins (enzymes, etc.) used in
manufacturing processes
Medical
- production of antibiotics, insulin, growth hormone,
interferon, clotting factor VIII, vaccines, probes for
infectious and genetic disease diagnosis, gene therapy,
genetics and regulation research
Social impact
Safety
concern has been expressed (and rightly so) about
release and uncontrolled replication of
genetically-engineered microbes into the
environment
therefore, great care is taken to "disable" these
microbes by engineering into them metabolic defects
that can only be overcome (enable growth) by providing
growth factors
Ethical considerations - these techniques have
great potential for harm to the environment, to people,
etc. if they are purposefully used as "killers" (e.g.,
for biological warfare)