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Biotechnology
Quarter 3 – Module 2:
Manipulation of Genetic Material
Biotechnology – Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 3 – Module 2: Manipulation of Genetic Material
First Edition, 2020

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Biotechnology
Quarter 3 – Module 2:
Manipulation of Genetic Material
 What I Need to Know

In the previous module, you were acquainted to the different tools that are being
used in genetic engineering and the processes involved in each tool.
For this module, you will further learn how the genetic material (DNA) are
manipulated.
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. define genetic manipulation;
2. explain the different processes/methods of genetic manipulation in plants and
animals; and
3. understand the advantage/s and disadvantage/s of plant and animal genetic
manipulation.

Lesson
Genetic Manipulation of
1 Plants and Animals
In the previous quarter, you have learned that Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a
complex molecule that contains all of the information necessary to build and
maintain an organism. All living things have DNA within their cells. However, DNA
does more than specify the structure and function of living things — it also serves as
the primary unit of heredity in organisms of all types. In other words, whenever
organisms reproduce, a portion of their DNA is passed along to their offspring. This
transmission of all or part of an organism's DNA helps ensure a certain level of
continuity from one generation to the next, while still allowing for slight changes that
contribute to the diversity of life.

Have you seen mushrooms that don’t go brown or maize that kills insects? Have you
heard about medicines which were tailor-made for the individual? Are they fact or
fiction? They are facts! Scientists use genetic engineering to modify (change) cells so
that the characteristics of an individual organism may be enhanced or modified.
Such engineering can be applied to any organism, from a virus to a plant.

Genetic manipulation is most commonly used to introduce a new, favorable

characteristic into the recipient organism, such as tolerance to a chemical herbicide
or resistance to insect attacks. It can also be used to alter the organism’s genes’
activity, such as slowing down natural decay. Genetic Manipulation or genetic
engineering or Recombinant DNA (RDNA) is a method that allows combination of
genes in a test tube to form hybrid DNA. It also allows the transfer of a specific gene
(from the same or different organism) to produce a new trait.

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While methods of genetic modification vary, the following process is typically used:
1. Identify the characteristic desired for the organism.
2. Isolate the characteristic from the organism that displays that trait.
3. Insert that characteristic into the desired organism.
4. Propagate the organism.

What’s In

In the previous module, the tools of genetic engineering have been discussed
to you. Let us see if you can recall some of them by answering the activity below.

Match column A with column B. Write your answers in a separate sheet of paper.

A B

1. Cuts (cleaves) DNA at specific sequences to a. Transgenic bacteria

make fragments with sticky or blunt ends. b. Genetic engineering
2. Bacteria that have received DNA from some c. Restriction enzymes
other organism. d. DNA sequencing
3. Uses an electrical current to separate DNA e. Gel electrophoresis
fragments by size. f. Gene Cloning
4. Plants that have received DNA from some g. Polymerase Chain Reaction
other organism. h. Recombinant DNA technology
5. Combines existing DNA with a fragment i. Transgenic plant
from another source. j. Transgenic animal
6. Makes many copies of recombinant DNA
containing individual genes.
7. Animals that have received DNA from some
other organism.
8. Makes many copies of an entire region of
DNA.
9. Determine the unknown sequence of DNA
molecules.
10. The process of using recombinant DNA
(rDNA) technology to alter the genetic makeup
of an organism.

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 Lesson
Genetic
What’s NewManipulation in
1.1 Plants
Genetic engineers have developed genetic recombination techniques to manipulate
gene sequences in plants, animals and other organisms to express specific traits.
Applications for genetic engineering are increasing as engineers and scientists work
together to identify the locations and functions of specific genes in the DNA sequence
of various organisms. Can you give your idea about the pictures below? Write your
answer in a sheet of paper.

A.

https://www.punnettssquare.com/2016/11/gmos-8-legged-chickens-and-china.html?m=1

B.

https://www.lightmillennium.org/fox-and-gmo-food/2014/ambika-hanchate-gm-food-advantages.html

What is It

Genetic modification or manipulation produced desired traits in plants (like the

tomato turned into red), animals (like the size of the chicken) and microbes used for
food began about 10,000 years ago. These changes, along with natural evolutionary
changes, have resulted in common food species that now, are genetically different
from their ancestors.

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For plant species, it can take up to 12 years to develop, evaluate and release a new
variety of crop in accordance with international requirements which specify that any
new variety must meet at least three criteria: it must be genetically distinct from all
other varieties, it must be genetically uniform through the population and it must be
genetically stable (UPOV, 2002)

Methods of Genetically Modifying Plants/Crops

1.Selective breeding – Two strains of plants are introduced and bred to produce
offspring with specific features. Between 10,000 and 300,000 genes can be affected.
This is the oldest method of genetic modification and is typically not included in
(Genetically Modified Organism) GMO food category.

Figure 1. Diagram of selective

breeding in a fruit

2. Mutagenesis – Plant seeds are purposely exposed to chemicals or

radiation in order to mutate the organisms. The offspring with desired traits are
kept and further bred. It is also not typically included in the GMO food category.

Normal field daisy

Figure 2. Picture of Normal Field and
Deformed Daisy

3. RNA interference –Individual undesirable

genes in plants are inactivated in order to remove any
undesired traits.

http://2017.igem.org/Team:Lanzhou/Tandem_RNAi

Figure 3. RNA silencing signal movement mechanism

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4. Transgenic – A gene is taken from one species and implanted in another in order
to introduce a desirable trait.

a. Gene Gun Method – also known as the “Micro-Projectile Bombardment” or

Biolistic method. It is most commonly used in the species like corn and rice. In this
method, DNA is bound to the tiny particles of gold or tungsten which is shot into
plant tissue under high pressure using a gun.

b. Agrobacterium method – it involves the use of soil-dwelling bacteria know

as Agrobacterium tumefaciens. It has the ability to infect plant cells with a piece of
its DNA. The piece of DNA that infects a plant chromosome through a tumor inducing
plasmid (Ti plasmid – a large circular DNA particle that replicates independently of
the bacterial chromosomes)

Figure 4. Diagram of Agrobacterium method and Gene gun method

What’s More

Now, you already have the idea on how the genetic material in plants are being
manipulated. To test your understanding about the said topic, you need to answer
the next activity!

Activity 1: Make a flow chart showing the methods of gene manipulation in plants.

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To further understand about genetic manipulation in plants here are the list of
advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Method Advantages
Selective breeding - It requires no company patent.
- It allows for higher profit.
- It can create new varieties of good
crops.
- It helps eliminate diseases.
- It influences the production of food
coming from plants in a positive
way.
Mutagenesis - It improves morphological and
physiological characters of cultivated
crops.
- Improves the disease resistance of
crop plants.
- Used to improve the specific
characters of a well-adapted high
yielding variety.
RNA interference - Can be easily introduced into cells
with high efficiency.
- Easily and rapidly generated.
- Economical and Long-term effect
Transgenic - It improves production and raise
farmer's income.
- It reduces the use of pesticide and
insecticide during farming that
might be great moves for the
betterment of the food supply.
- It can feed a rapidly increasing
population because it shows
dramatically increased yields.
- It can produce more in small area of
land.
- It reduced the use of toxic
pesticides.
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Disadvantages
- It can lead to loss of species
variety.
- It can create offspring with
different traits.
- It could create a genetic
depression.
- It poses some environmental
risks.
- It can change the evolution of
species.
- The frequency of desirable
mutation will be very low.
- The breeder has to screen a
large population to select a
desirable mutation.
- It associated with undesirable
side effects.
- Non-renewable resources
- More-technologically
challenging
- Virus-mediated toxic effect.
- The production imposes high
risks to the disruption of
ecosystem and biodiversity.
- It increases the cost of
cultivation and more inclined
towards marketization of
farming that work on immoral
profits.
- The transgenic crops
endanger not only farmers but
also the trade, and the
environment as well.
- It may possess a human
health risk.
- The excessive production of
genetically modified foods will
be rendered ineffective over
time.
 What’s More

We are done in advantages and disadvantages of different methods used in genetic

manipulation in plants. Now, you may answer the following activity.

Activity 2: Put a check (√) on the space provided whether the statement is an
advantage or disadvantage of genetic manipulation in plants. (Write on a separate
sheet)

Advantage Disadvantage
1. It improves production and raise farmer's income.
2. It may possess a human health risk.
3. Improves the disease resistance of crop plants.
4. It helps eliminate diseases.
5. More-technologically challenging
6. It associated with undesirable side effects.
7. It could create a genetic depression.
8. Non-renewable resources
9. Economical and Long-term effect
10. It allows for higher profit.

Lesson
Genetic Manipulation of
1.2 Animals
On this module you will probably encounter terms that are similar on the previous
module. Certainly, because Genetic Modification is also known as Genetic
modification or manipulation! Now, to further learn about gene manipulation of
animals, let’s start the discussion!

What is It

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Nowadays, it is now possible to create a transgenic animal which can provide
economical means of producing life-saving health products with the help of new
technologies. As in the case of transgenic plants.

A transgenic animal is one whose genome has been altered by the transfer of a gene
or genes from another species or breed.

A. B.
Figure 1. Transgenic Animals A. Green fluorescent protein in jellyfish B. Genetically
engineered cows

The ability to produce transgenic animals is reliant on a number of components. One

of the first things needed to generate transgenic animals is the ability to transfer
embryos.
Here are the basic requirements for genetic engineering of animals:
a) Identify, isolate and clone the gene of interest
b) Design and prepare the gene construct or recombinant DNA
c) Deliver the gene construct to the animal system
d) Check the presence and expression of the gene in the new host

How Transgenic Animals are Produced?

Genetic engineering of animals involved microinjection method to deliver the gene.
Scientist identified and isolated the gene to be introduced to the animal for the
desired trait, the gene or DNA is injected into a fertilized egg of the animal. The gene
is incorporated into the DNA of the animal’s genome and encodes the instruction for
the new trait. If the gene is integrated in the fertilized egg before it divides, then every
cell in the animal will contain the gene and the gene will be passed on by the animal
to its offspring. When the fertilized egg or zygote has divided into several cells it is
implanted into a surrogate mother where it develops to full term and is delivered.
This method has been used to develop transgenic animals such as cattle, sheep and
goat which can produce health products in the animal’s milk.

Dolly the sheep, as the first mammal to be cloned from an

adult cell, is by far the world’s most famous clone. However,
cloning has existed in nature. Animal cloning from an adult
cell is much more difficult than from an embryonic cell. So,
when scientist working at the Roslin Institute of Scotland
produced Dolly, the only lamb born from 277 attempts, it was
a major news story around the world.

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To produce Dolly, scientist used an udder (a large pendulous organ consisting of two
or more mammary gland) cell from a six-year-old Finn Dorset white sheep. They had
to find a way to reprogram the udder cells – to keep them alive but stop them growing
– which they achieved by altering the growth medium. Then they injected the cell
into an unfertilized egg cell which had its nucleus removed, and made the cells fuse
by using electrical pulses. The unfertilized egg came from a Scottish Blackface ewe.
They cultured the embryo for six to seven days to see if it divided and developed
normally, before implanting it into a surrogate mother. Dolly had a white face. The
transgenic sheep was born after 148 days.

Dolly lived a pampered existence at the Roslin Institute. She mated and produced
normal offspring in the normal way, showing that such cloned animals can
reproduce. Born on July 5, 1996, aged six and a half. Sheep can live to age 11 or 12,
but Dolly suffered from arthritis in a hind leg joint and from sheep pulmonary
adenomatosis, a virus-induced lung tumor that is common among sheep which are
raised indoors.

Transgenic animals have a huge help in economical means especially in agriculture.

But we also know that there will be a disadvantage despite of a lot of advantages that
the transgenic animals can provide. The table below will enumerate the advantages
and disadvantages of producing a transgenic animal.

Genetic Manipulation of Animals

Advantage/s Disadvantage/s

Increased the growth rate Breeding problem

Improve the disease resistance
Improve the food conversion rate
Increase the muscle mass
Improve the nutritional value
Improve the wool quality
Sometimes leads to mutagenesis (alteration of
genes) and functional disorder
Low survival rate of transgenic animal
Ethical issues
It can also potentially affect the environment, thus
altering the living conditions of many species
May lead to food-safety problems like allergies or
toxicities.

What’s More

Activity 1: Let’s Clone a Mouse, Mouse, Mouse . . .

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FIRST, A LITTLE HISTORY:
In 1996, Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned by transferring
the nucleus from an adult somatic cell into an enucleated egg cell. To confirm that
Dolly was truly a clone, researchers at the University of Hawaii used a similar process
in 1998 and ultimately cloned 50 mice.

Objective:
Simulate the steps of somatic cell nuclear transfer to produce an exact clone,
or genetic copy, of a mouse.

Materials:
• Lab Benchtop illustration with 4 Petri Dishes
• Mice Cut-outs page
• Crayons, colored pencils or markers
• Scissors
• Tape

Procedure:
1. Color the cells as follows:
• Cumulus Cell Nucleus and Cumulus Cell – blue
• Egg Cell Nucleus and Egg Cell – blue
• Morula (the ball of cells) - green
2. Color the three large female mice as follows:
• Somatic Cell Donor – brown
• Egg Cell Donor – black
• Don’t color the Mouse Pup just yet!
3. Cut out the mice and the Morula, and spread them out in front of you.
4. From the brown mouse (the Somatic Cell Donor), cut out the Cumulus Cell and
place it in Petri Dish 1.
5. From the black mouse (the Egg Cell Donor), cut out the Egg Cell and place it in
Petri Dish 2.
6. Cut out and discard the nucleus from the Egg Cell i!n Petri Dish 2. Do not
remove any of the cytoplasm.
7. Place the enucleated Egg Cell in Petri Dish 3.
8. Cut out the nucleus from the Cumulus Cell in Petri Dish 1, making sure that no
cytoplasm is left surrounding the nucleus.
9. Place the Cumulus Cell Nucleus into the enucleated Egg Cell in Petri Dish 3,
and tape them together on the back.
10.Tape (on the back) the Egg Cell with the newly replaced nucleus onto Petri Dish
4 and let it rest for about 2 minutes. This waiting time represents the 1 to 6 hours
that the new nucleus needs to successfully adjust to the Egg Cell.
11. The new Egg Cell needs to be chemically stimulated in order to divide and grow
into an embryo. To represent this chemical activation, color Petri Dish 4, including
the new Egg Cell, entirely with yellow (the yellow color over the new Egg Cell should
hint at a green color).
12. After it is chemically stimulated, the new Egg Cell divides into a ball of cells
called a Morula. Cover the new Egg Cell with the Morula (colored green).
13. After the new Egg Cell divides into a Morula, it is placed into the Womb of the
Surrogate Mother mouse (colored white). Tape the Morula into the Womb of the
Surrogate Mother.
14. After about 19 days, the Surrogate Mother mouse will give birth to a new
Mouse Pup.

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15. Which adult mouse will the Mouse Pup resemble? What color will it be? Color
the newly delivered Mouse Pup this color.
16. Clean your lab station and answer the Activity Questions.

Guide Questions:

1. What does the Nucleus contain? What role do its contents play in the cell?
2. What is the purpose of the Somatic Cell Donor?
3. What is a Somatic Cell?
4. What is the purpose of the Egg Cell Donor?
5. What is the major difference between a somatic cell and an egg cell?
6. What is the purpose of the Surrogate Mother?
7. What color did you color the Mouse Pup? Why?
8. What gender (male or female) will the Mouse Pup be? Why?

What I Have Learned

After reading the lesson about genetic manipulation in plants and animals, explain
the different terms with your own words. Write you answers in the sheet of paper.
1. Genetic manipulation –
2. Selective breeding –
3. Mutagenesis –
4. Gene gun method
5. Agrobacterium method-_
6. Udder –
7. Pulmonary Adenomatosis –
8. Surrogate –
9. Microinjection method –
10. Enucleation –

Assessment

Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. It allows to transfer of a specific gene to produce a new trait.

a. Biotechnology c. Traditional Biotech
b. Genetic Manipulation d.Modern biotech
2. A process where gene is taken from one species and implanted in another to introduce a
desirable traits.
a. Selective breeding c. Transgenic
b. Mutagenesis d. RNA interference

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3. The individual undesirable genes in plants are inactivated in oder to remove any undesired
traits.
a. Selective breeding c. Transgenic
b. Mutagenesis d. RNA interference
4. A process whre two strains of plants are introduced and cred to produce offspring with
specific features.
a. Selective breeding c. Transgenic
b. Mutagenesis d. RNA interference
5. Plant seeds are purposely exposed to chemicals or radiation in order to mutate the
organisms.
a. Selective breeding c. Transgenic
b. Mutagenesis d. RNA interference
6. It involes the use of soil-dwelling bacteria known as Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
a. Gene gun method c. Micro-projectile bombardment
b. Agrobacterium method d. Biolistic method
7. A large circular DNA particle that replicates independently of the bacterial chromosomes.
a. Plasmid c. DNA
b. Gene d. RNA
8. In this method, DNA is bound to the tiny particles of gold which is shot using a gun.
a. Gene gun method c. Micro-projectile bombardment
b. Agrobacterium method d. Biolistic method
9. First mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.
a. Dolly c. Molly
b. Jolly d. Rolly
10. Genetic engineering of animals involved this type of method which is use to deliver gene.
a. microtubulation c. microinjection
b. microenucleation d. microinsertion

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