11 Questions
What is the purpose of selective breeding?
To maintain desired traits by choosing the best male and female to breed
What is the main risk associated with inbreeding?
Decreased genetic diversity
How does cloning differ from inbreeding?
Cloning creates genetically identical organisms, while inbreeding maintains desired traits.
What is a potential benefit of gene splicing?
Introducing new traits into an organism
Which technique allows for the creation of disease-resistant potatoes like the Burbank potato?
Hybridization
What is a common drawback associated with cloning?
Decreased genetic diversity
What is the primary goal of Genetic Engineering?
To add new traits not naturally found in an organism
What term is used for a genetically modified organism that has genes transferred from one organism to another?
Transgenic Organism
Which tool is commonly used in Recombinant DNA Technology for studying and manipulating DNA molecules?
Gel Electrophoresis
What is the main technique used in artificial selection to produce offspring with desired traits?
Selective Breeding
Which process involves choosing organisms with specific characteristics to mate and produce offspring with desired traits?
Selective Breeding
Study Notes
Genetic Engineering
- The goal of genetic engineering is to add new traits to an organism that are not normally found in it.
- It involves making changes to the genetic code of an organism.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
- A GMO is a plant, animal, or microbe with one or more changes made to its genome.
- GMOs are also called transgenic organisms since genes are transferred from one organism to another.
Recombinant DNA Technology
- Molecular biologists use various technologies and tools to study and manipulate DNA molecules.
- These technologies and tools include:
- Artificial selection
- Cloning
- Gene splicing
- Gel electrophoresis
- DNA sequencing
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Artificial Selection
- Breeders choose which organisms to mate to produce offspring with desired traits.
- They cannot control which genes are passed on.
- Three types of artificial selection:
- Selective breeding: mating animals with desired characteristics to produce offspring with those traits.
- Hybridization: crossing two individuals with unlike characteristics to produce the best in both organisms.
- Inbreeding: breeding organisms that are genetically similar to maintain desired traits.
Cloning
- Cloning involves creating an organism that is an exact genetic copy of another.
- Identical twins are naturally created clones.
- Cloning can be done by:
- Removing a single cell from a parent organism
- Growing an entire individual from that cell
- Benefits of cloning:
- Exact copies of organisms with strong traits can be made
- Food supply can be increased
- Medical purposes: clone organs for transplants
- Bring back or stop species from going extinct
- Risks of cloning:
- Decreases genetic diversity
- If one clone gets a disease, they all get it
- Inefficient: high failure rate
- Expensive
Gene Splicing
- DNA is cut out of one organism and put into another organism.
- A trait is transferred from one organism to another.
- Example: the human insulin gene can be removed from a human cell and put into a bacterium to produce insulin.
Test your knowledge on genetic engineering, the process of making changes to the genetic code of an organism to add new traits. Learn about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and how they are created through genetic engineering techniques.
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