Genetic Engineering

Pre-Assessment
1. How organisms may be modified?
2. Enumerate plants and animals that have desirable or enhanced
traits and how each of the traits was introduced or developed.
Modifying Technique ex. Classical Breeding, Recombinant DNA
Technology.
What is genetic engineering?
The term genetic engineering initially referred to various techniques
used for the modification or manipulation of organisms through the
processes of heredity and reproduction. As such, the term embraced
both artificial selection and all the interventions of biomedical
techniques, among them artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization
(e.g., “test-tube” babies), cloning, and gene manipulation.
• The process of using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology to alter the
genetic makeup of an organism.

• Genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of one or more

genes. Most often, a gene from another species is added to an
organism's genome to give it a desired phenotype.
Genetic engineering involves the use of molecular techniques to
modify the traits of a target organism. The modification of traits may
involve:
• introduction of new traits into an organism
• enhancement of a present trait by increasing the expression of the
desired gene
• enhancement of a present trait by disrupting the inhibition of the
desired genes’ expression.
A general outline of recombinant DNA may be given as follows:
• cutting on cleavage of DNA by restriction enzymes (REs)
• selection of an appropriate vector or vehicle which would propagate the
recombinant DNA ( eg. circular plasmid in bacteria with a foreign gene of
interest)
• ligation (join together) of the gene of interest (eg. from animal) with the
vector (cut bacterial plasmid)
• transfer of the recombinant plasmid into a host cell (that would carry out
replication to make huge copies of the recombined plasmid)
• selection process to screen which cells actually contain the gene of interest
• sequencing of the gene to find out the primary structure of the protein
Performance Task: ½ Crosswise
1. What are the pros and cons of genetic engineering?
PROS CONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2. What is your opinion on genetic engineering? Note:

Support your opinion with facts and include the issue of
biosafety.