Subject Code Biology 2 Fundamentals of Biology 2

Learning Guide
LG 1.0 DNA Science and Technology/Biotechnology
Code
Lesson Code LC 1.4 Applications of DNA Science
Time Frame 1 session. 30 minutes
Time
TARGET allotment
(1 minute)

DNA Science has come a long way and its applications or technology have brought about so
much change in our lives and the environment.

This lesson therefore aims to present biotechnologies in the perspective of DNA Science as a
springboard for an alternative assessment. Specifically, at the end of this lesson, learners should:

1. identify various biotechnologies as applications of genetic engineering;

2. analyze the pros and cons of these technologies; and
3. perform several exercises on these technologies in the fields of medicine, agriculture,
industry, and forensics, for an alternative assessment.
Time
HOOK allotment (3
minutes)

How did DNA become a reliable tool for

Think about this:
Forensic Science?
DNA is now a science word that a lot of people worldwide are somehow quite familiar with.
This however was not the case before 1985 when DNA analysis was first proposed by Alec J. Jeffreys
to be used in investigating law enforcement cases. What follows is a portion of a news clip about this.

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 Figure 1. Killer breakthrough - the day DNA evidence first nailed a murderer retrieved from the
guardian.com (Visit: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/07/killer-dna-evidence-genetic-
profiling-criminal-investigation)
Time
IGNITE allotment
(8 minutes)
The above-mentioned case was solved through DNA finger-printing or DNA
profiling; whereby, DNA barcodes or profiles generated from biological specimens collected
from crime scenes are compared to the victim/s' and suspect/s' DNA for confirmation as crime
perpetrators. This DNA technology is also utilized for purposes of paternity and confirmation
of relationships as well as proving historical and evolutionary relationships.

DNA technology through DNA profiling has not just revolutionized the field of
forensics. It too, has continued to contribute to the modernization and further enhancement of
Agriculture, Medicine, Industry, and many other fields of study. This is especially so
considering the development and use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or
transgenic organisms. Figure 2 shows an example of a glass frog that is endemic in South
America. In Japan, Japanese scientists have tried to genetically modify or engineer a native
non-translucent frog, which produced F2 offspring that has a translucent skin, making its
internal organs very visible, allowing easy anatomical and physiological observations without
necessitating a dissection (Sumida et al., 2016).

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 Figure 1. See-Through Frog ( Smithsonian Channel and youtube.com)

For more information on this see-through frog, you may opt to visit this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9CX_rUqltk

GMOs are organisms with artificially altered DNA. The alteration of the DNA in this regard
may be through the 1. - insertion of a foreign DNA into a host DNA, 2. - alteration of an existing gene,
and 3. - the deletion "turning off" of a gene. The addition of a foreign gene to a host DNA will make
the host organism express the trait too and the host organisms that are made through this process are
more aptly called transgenic organisms. The alteration of an existing gene on the other hand may cause
an expression to be at a higher rate or vice versa, and this process is usually used for gene therapy. The
deletion of a gene in other instances may cause the prevention of the expression of traits such as the
deactivation of the ripening gene in tomatoes (Biozone International, 2001 - 2006).

There are already diverse and far-reaching results with the creation of GMOs such as the extension of
shelf life of fresh produce, the self-production of pesticides or herbicides by crops and weeds, the
improvement of crops (such as bigger sizes), natural mechanisms for environmental clean-up,
production of desirable chemical products such as vitamins and insulin, the development of vaccines in
a shorter time frame, as well as livestock improvement.

Though there are plenty of benefits and desirable consequences in the use of GMOs, still there are many
issues on safety and ethics raised that it becomes a necessity to carefully weigh the risks and advantages
of using them in reference to human health, well-being of other organisms, and the environment
(Biozone International, 2001 - 2006).

Let us take the Bt corn as an example in analyzing the pros and cons of using GMOs. The Bt corn is
one of the widely- propagated crops worldwide which is of an artificial genetic engineering origin.
Simply put, this corn variety is a result of the addition of a gene from the soil bacteria, Bacillus
thuringiensis that allows the natural production of a pesticide in the form of Bt toxin to that of the corn's
genome. Bt corn can therefore produce its own pesticide to ward off pests such as the corn borer, leaving
the corns' kernels intact and in better quality. The patent for this GMO is however controlled by very
few rich biotechnology companies, and farmers need to rely on the terminator seeds (infertile)
sold/provided by these companies. Let us then try to analyze the consequences of using this genetically
modified crop. The table that follows portrays this analysis.

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Table 1. Analysis of the Pros and Cons of Bt corn utilization
Fields of study Advantages Disadvantages Ethical issues/ questions
concerned
Agriculture ● Higher crop yield ● Induces mono- ● Is it a possibility that
● Better crop quality cropping and pests such as corn
discourages the borers develop
planting of several resistance to the Bt
crop species and toxin produced by Bt
varieties corn?

Economics ● Since there is ● Monopoly control of ● How do farming

more corn agriculture by biotech practices by small-
produce, the price companies scale farmers get to be
for corn and its affected?
by-products may
be cheaper
Health ● As there will be ● Will human consumers
higher crop yield, be affected by the Bt
more can be fed. toxin in Bt corn-food
products?
● How will the
consumers know if
their food products are
produced by using Bt
corn? Do consumers
need to know if their
food products are from
GMOs?
Ecology ● Mono-cropping ● Can the Bt corn's genes
causes eventual soil pass down to other
nutrient problems. native corn varieties
and altogether alter the
corn genome through
hybrids?

Other examples of technologies which are offshoots of DNA Science include:

1. Gene therapy through gene delivery systems that provide correct versions of faulty genes to a
patient's cells by using various vectors such as lipoproteins and viruses.
2. Transgenic organisms used as biofactories for the production of human proteins such as using
E. coli to produce human insulin.
3. Cloning by embryo splitting or nuclear transfer such as that of the making of dolly the sheep
and cc the cat.
4. Stem cells and tissue engineering that introduce embryonic or pluripotent undifferentiated
cells to damaged organs for repair.
5. Xenotransplantation or the transplantation of organs from one species to another
6. Vaccine development in a shorter time frame
7. Genome projects and the human genome project that map out the entire genome of a species
to identify all genes that determine all the characters of a species including genetic diseases
(Biozone International, 2001 - 2006).

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 Time
NAVIGATE allotment (16
minutes)

Work on the exercise/activity posted in your KHUB Biology 2 account to fully

comprehend the mechanisms and the principles that underlie in various applications of
DNA Science and Technology. This is a Graded Alternative Assessment worth 20
points to be implemented synchronously.
Time
allotment
KNOT (2 minutes)

DNA Science and Technology has paved the way for many applications that affect our health,
economies, agriculture, forensics, and many more. It is in these technologies that we may easily see that
Science will never fail to provide us alternatives and options, but will never tell us which is right from
wrong. With DNA science and technology in the forefront of our lives especially in this pandemic
milieu, it is now up to us to keep ourselves and others be aware of these technologies and be properly
informed of their benefits and harms, so we may be better equipped in making informed choices and
decisions.

References:

Biozone International. (2001 - 2006). Aspects of Biotechnology. In B. International. Biozone

International.
Nelson, L. (2004). Plants to uncover landmines. Nature.
Reece, J., Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S., Minorsky, P., & Jackson, R. (2011). Campbell
Biology. San Francisco, Claifornia: Pearson Education, Inc.
Sumida, M., Islam, M., Igawa, T., Kurabayashi, A., Furukawa, Y., Sano, N., . . . Yoshizaki, N. (2016).
the first see-through frog created by breeding: description, inheritance patterns, and dermal
chromatophore structure. Scientific Reports (natureresearch), 1-8.

Prepared by: Frances Marie Alinio-Aniceto Reviewed by: (Sgd) Virna Jane M. Navarro
Position: Special Science Teacher (SST) III Position: Special Science Teacher (SST) IV
Campus: PSHS-CARC Campus: PSHS-WVC

Approved by: (Sgd) Michelle B. Ducusin

Position: Special Science Teacher (SST) V
Team Lead (Biology)
Campus: PSHS-IRC

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