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Genetic Engineering |
Genetic engineering is a novel technique to alter the genetic makeup of an individual. You will read in this article how to produce transgenic plants through genetic engineering techniques in 2023. You will also know how the applications of genetic engineering have played role in the fields of medicine, agriculture, and the industrial sector.
Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering is a process of genetically modifying
the
Steps of Genetic Engineering
- Vector or plasmid is removed from the bacterial cell.
- Next, Restriction enzymes cleave a small portion of bacterial plasmid.
- Then, the gene is inserted into the plasmid. This plasmid has undergone genetic modification.
- Now, this recombinant plasmid is placed into the bacterial cell.
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Genetic Engineering Technique 2022 |
Process of Genetic Engineering
Extraction of DNA
In the first step, we need to extract DNA from the target
organism. For example, if we need to insert the bt gene, we will remove DNA from the
organism that contains desired gene. Let’s take an example of the bt gene known as
Bacillus thuringenesis, which is a naturally occurring soil bacterium. The Bt
gene produces the Bt toxin protein. First, the bacterium is taken which encodes for the Bt
gene and DNA is separated from other components of the cell.
Cloning of gene
After
Designing gene construct
After cloning the next stage is to design a gene which
involves engineering a gene so that it can function properly. This is performed by
cleaving the gene using restriction enzymes and replacing the separated gene
sections. The gene construct is inserted in plant species.
The transgene construct is made up of the following components
A promoter sequence regulates the gene functions by turning the
gene on and off. Most commonly CAMV35S promoter is used for the expression of genes
in plant tissue. Other than this promoter NOS is also used.
Selective marker is used to identify genes and allows the
plant to grow in presence of selective agents. Selectable markers such as
antibiotic resistance and herbicide resistance are used to make gene constructs.
A terminator sequence is added at the end of the sequence to
terminate the transgene sequence. The terminator sequence ensures that the
transgene sequence has been expressed properly in plant cells.
An example of the Bt gene construct is explained. First, the promoter sequence is added which replaces the bacterial gene with a bt gene promoter that can turn on the expression bt gene in all tissues. When the gene is replaced at the promoter region then, a coding region that codes for Bt protein is added at the selective marker region then the termination sequence following the promoter and coding region terminates the bt protein reaction. Now the gene is prepared to be transferred to the plant.
Transformation
Now the transgene is inserted into the plant cell. Plants have
many cells, and to insert transgene in each plant cell tissue culture is
used to develop calli which are undifferentiated plant cells. The gene is inserted into the plant through
various methods such as electroporation, gene gun, and agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The transgene is now inserted into the callus region of a plant
cell. Now from the transgenic seed mature transgenic plants are produced that
will be grown in greenhouses.
Breeding
Transgenic plants are crossed for successive generations
using conventional breeding techniques so that the transgene should be
expressed in all plant cell lines. Transgenic plants are continuously backcrossed with selected breed lines to get more transgenic line offspring.
Applications of Genetic Engineering
Medical Applications
Genetic engineering has played a tremendous role in the production
of medicines. Nowadays, in 2022 genetic engineering has made it possible to generate
large quantities of vaccines, medicines, enzymes, hormones, and monoclonal
antibodies through the manipulation of microorganisms. Monoclonal antibodies have been proven to be effective in the treatment of cancer because they are cloned from a specific source and directed
against a particular antigen. The creation of vaccines induces the body’s immune system
to produce antibodies against an infectious bacterium.
The novel application of genetic engineering is gene
therapy, which allows normal genes to be transplanted into a person with
defective genes. Gene therapy has been used to treat several genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, and muscular dystrophy.
The Human Insulin gene is synthesized in large amounts through genetic engineering techniques. A small section of the plasmid is removed and the human insulin gene is inserted in that section of the plasmid then the plasmid is placed in E.coli bacteria where bacterial cell reproduces and produces recombinant insulin. This is the diagrammatic representation of human insulin.
Agricultural Applications
Genetic engineering has enabled crop plant species to
increase their productivity, and nutritional value and develop resistance against bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Genetic engineering in agriculture generates
genetically engineered crops that provide protection against insecticides and
pesticides. Genetic engineering can be
used to produce high-yielding pulses, wheat, and cereals.
Transgenic cotton, corn, potato, tobacco, and rape seeds
have been created that are resistant to certain pests, and weedicides. A common
example of bacillus thurenginesis produces a protein that is toxic to
insects. Bt gene which codes toxic protein has been extracted from bacterium
through genetic engineering and inserted into tobacco and tomato plants.
Industrial Applications
Genetically modified bacteria produce chemicals for
industrial use. Genetically modified bacteria allow the large-scale production of
organic compounds. The production of genetically engineered enzymes synthesizes
glucose from sucrose. Genetic
engineering has allowed producing bacterial strains which synthesize ammonia
at a large scale that will be used in the manufacturing of fertilizers at an affordable
rate.
Genetically engineered microorganisms have been able to
transform cellulose into glucose which then converts glucose to ethanol. Genetic
engineering technology can be used to detect decomposed waste material such as
petroleum products, trash, naphthalene, and other industrial pollutants.
Bioenergy Production
With the advent of genetic engineering, it is now possible
to genetically engineered renewable sources that produce large amounts of
biomass that can be used as fuel and can be transformed into alcohol, oil,
diesel, and other refined fuels. Methane
gas can also be produced from the waste material of these components.
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