Applied Genetics

OBJECTIVES
 Enumerate and explain the methods used in plant
and animal breading.
 Describethe steps involve in recombinant DNA
technology.
 Cite some applications of DNA technology in
agriculture, in animal breeding and in medicine.
Plant Breeding
 People bred plants and animals by trial and error in the
earlier times.
 Inorder to produce new strains and variety with the
desired traits.
Early plant breeding technique includes saving seeds from
the best plant for planting new crops.
Luther Burbank is an American horticulturist that developed
Russet Burbank potatoes in 1873 that has 800 varieties.
Horticulturist a person that is inclined with science and art
of growing fruit,vegetable,flowers or ornamental plants.
What do farmers hope to achieve in breeding crops ?

 Increase crop yield and improve the quality of

crops produce.
 Resistance to adverse environmental conditions
like frost, heat, drought and flood.
 Resistance to disease and attack of parasites
 Appropriate size and shape for aesthetic appeal
 Ease in growing and handling
One of the goals was to extend the area of crop
production
Methods of Plant Breeding

Self Pollination Cross Pollination

 Occurs when the  Happens when the pollens

pollen transferred to a comes from a flower of
different plant.
flower of the same
plant.  Cross Pollinated plant
tend to produce a diverse
 Self Pollinating plants population of hybrids.
includes the following:  Reproduce naturally by
Wheat, barley, rice, cross-pollination are
beans and tomatoes. carrots, asparagus, clover,
walnut and cabbage
Breeding Self Pollinating Plant Species

Mass Selection

Pure-line Selection

Hybridization
Mass Selection
 A process of choosing ideal plants from a large number of population that will
serve as breeding parents.
 Known as phenotypic selection where in the practice of selecting is based on
the observable traits.

Procedure of mass selection involves the following:

1. Collecting of seeds from desirable ideal plant population.
2. Sowing them to form the next generation.

Traditional approach aim is to destroy undesirable types in the field and allow
only the desirable ones to grow and have their seeds sown for growing next
generation.

Modern approach aim is to harvest and grow the best plants separately and
observe their progenies (offspring). Therefor the undesirable and weaker are
destroyed while the stronger and better ones are sown for the next generation.
This process is known as progeny selection.
Pure-line Selection
 The progeny of single self fertilized homozygous plant.
 This is the development of new varieties from old land
varieties that have pass down from generation to
generation.

Pure-line Selection involves the following steps:

1. A number of superior looking plants are selected from a
population.
2. Offspring of these selected plants are grown and be
evaluated by simple observation over a period of
several years.
3. Therefore the population of the offspring coming from
the subsequent generation from each of the selected
plants will constitute a new “pure line variety”.
Hybridization
 Also called outbreeding which involves the carefully crossing the selected
parent plants.
 This method was started during the 20th century
 It aims to combine the desirable traits in parent plants and produce a pure-
breeding progenies that are far more superior than the parental generation.

Parent plants with contrasting traits are crossed in F1 generation only. The
purpose is to produce F1 hybrid that have better traits. This referred to as
hybrid vigor or heterosis
Breeding Cross pollinating Plants
 The approach in mass selection for self-pollinating plant
species is also applicable in cross-pollinating plants.
Desirable plants are chosen from a population to become
parent plants either phenotypic or progeny.

 The development of hybrid varieties in cross pollinated

plant species involves three major steps:
1. Selecting prior parent plants of different varieties.
2. Self pollinating the parent plants for several generations
to produce inbreed lines (inbreeding).
3. Crossing selected inbred lines.
Animal Breeding
 Basically follows the same procedures as plant breeding that is
mass selection, inbreeding and outbreeding.
 Animals are usually bred for utility, sport, pleasure and
research.
 Example dogs are bred to serve as watchdogs, hunters, police
dogs, sheep dogs and pet.
 Small mammals like rats,mice,guinea pigs and rabbits are bred
for research purposes.
 Breeding of different species for example a horse and a donkey
will yield to a sterile mule. Mule is known for its strength and
endurance thus they are term as beast of burden.
 In North America and Western Europe, cattle used to bred for
either beef or milk production.
 Genetic Engineering
Deals with the techniques of identifying, manipulating and
transferring specific portion of genes from one organism to
another to produce characteristics in plants and animals
more precisely than the normal breeding.
 Organism which were altered through genetic engineering are
referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMO) or
transgenic organism.

 Biotechnology refers to the use of transgenic organisms to

perform certain task for the benefit of mankind.

 In 1940 Joshua Lederberg and Edward Tatum they are American

Scientist who revealed that the two strains of E. coli can form a
tunnel-like connection through which one strain can pass gene to
another.
Recombinant DNA Technology
 Allows genes from different sources, even different species to be combined
into a single DNA molecule.
 Many Bacterial cells contain small circular DNA called plasmid
Application of Recombinant DNA Technology

1.The harmful bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens which

causes crown gall disease that destroy tobacco plants has
been modified from being pathogenic (disease causing) to
non pathogenic vector.
2.Some people with diabetes uses insulin obtained from pig
and cattle tissues to help to regulate their blood sugar.
3.Formulation of vaccine,gene for proteins of the virus
causing hepatitis B have been cloned in yeast cells and
now be used to make vaccine against this disease.
Write T if it is True and F if it is False

1.Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a harmful

bacteria that can cause crown gall disease.
2. Restriction enzyme is the cutting tool in
recombinant DNA technology.
3. DNA ligase joins the isolated gene donor to the
sticky end of the opened plasmid.
4. Plasmid contains a chromosomes
5. Organism that were altered trough genetic
engineering was term as GMO or Transgenic
organism.