GENETIC

ENGINEERING
What is it?
-is the direct manipulation of an
organism's genes using biotechnology.
- It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup
of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across
species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms.
What is it?
- New  DNA  is obtained by either isolating and copying the
genetic material of interest using recombinant DNA methods or
by  artificially synthesising  the DNA. A  construct  is usually
created and used to insert this DNA into the host organism.
When it started?
- Recombinant-DNA (rDNA) technology—the way in which
genetic material from one organism is artificially introduced
into the genome of another organism and then replicated and
expressed by that other organism
- The first success of the Boyer-Cohen collaboration occurred in
spring 1973 and involved one of Cohen’s plasmids, pSC101.
First Replication
of DNA
- Plasmids were already known to transfer drug resistance
among bacteria, and this one could make E. coli resistant to the
antibiotic tetracycline.
- When the linearised pSC101 DNA was mixed with other DNA
that had been cleaved by the same enzyme, the complementary
ends of fragments from both sources of DNA joined together
into new loops.
First Replication
of DNA
- Treatment with another enzyme closed the still-visible nicks
in the DNA loops, which were then introduced into calcium
chloride–treated bacteria.
- The bacteria were spread on a culture containing tetracycline,
and only the bacteria with the rDNA plasmids survived.
What this meant
for genetic
engineering
- Commercial ventures quickly started up with the objective of
capitalising on Boyer and Cohen’s new rDNA technology,
despite ongoing controversy over the technology and public
fear of cloning. At the forefront was Genentech, founded in 1976
by Boyer and a young venture capitalist, Robert Swanson.
 Sources
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science
/1111989/Genetic-engineering-human-
gene-modification-homo-sapiens-Jamie-
Metzl-Hacking-Darwin
https://leapsmag.com/our-genetically-
engineered-future-is-closer-than-you-
think/
https://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what
-is-genetic-engineering
https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/herb
ert-boyer-and-stanley-cohen