LESSON 9 PROCESS OF GENETIC ENGINEERING

Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. The goal is to
add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. Examples of genetically
engineered (transgenic) organisms currently on the market include plants with resistance to
some insects, plants that can tolerate herbicides, and crops with modified oil content.

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is a genetic material that is stored in the nucleus. The nucleus is
a part of the eukaryotic cell and contains nucleic acids and it is responsible for protein
production. Small segments of DNA are called genes.

How is genetic engineering done?

Genetic engineering, also called transformation, works by physically removing a gene from one
organism and inserting it into another, giving it the ability to express the trait encoded by that
gene.

The process of genetic engineering requires the successful completion of five steps:

Step 1: DNA Extraction

DNA is extracted from the desired organism. A sample of an organism containing the gene of
interest is taken through a series of steps to remove the DNA

Step 2: Gene Cloning

The second step of the genetic engineering process is gene cloning. During DNA extraction, all
of the DNA from the organism is extracted at once. Scientists use gene cloning to separate the
single gene of interest from the rest of the genes extracted and make thousands of copies of it.
Step 3: Gene Design

Once a gene has been cloned, genetic engineers begin the third step, designing the gene to
work once inside a different organism. This is done in a test tube by cutting the gene apart with
enzymes and replacing gene regions that have been separated.

Step 4: Transformation or Gene Insertion

Since plants have millions of cells, it would be impossible to insert a copy of the transgene into
every cell. Therefore, tissue culture is used to propagate masses of undifferentiated plant cells
called callus. These are the cells to which the new transgene will be added.

The new gene is inserted into some of the cells using various techniques. Some of the more
common methods include the gene gun, agrobacterium, micro-fibers, and electroporation. The
main goal of each of these methods is to transport the new gene(s) and deliver them into the
nucleus of a cell without killing it. Transformed plant cells are then regenerated into transgenic
plants. The transgenic plants are grown to maturity in greenhouses and the seed they produce,
which has inherited the transgene, is collected.
Step 5: Backcross Breeding

Transgenic plants are crossed with elite breeding lines using traditional plant breeding methods
to combine the desired traits of elite parents and the transgene into a single line. The offspring
is repeatedly crossed back to the elite line to obtain a high-yielding transgenic line. The result
will be a plant with a yield potential close to current hybrids that expresses the trait encoded by
the new transgene.

Genetic engineering compared to traditional breeding

Although the goal of both genetic engineering and traditional plant breeding is to improve an
organism’s traits, there are some key differences between them.

While genetic engineering manually moves genes from one organism to another, traditional
breeding moves genes through mating or crossing, the organisms in hopes of obtaining
offspring with the desired combination of traits.

Traditional breeding is effective in improving traits, however, when compared with genetic
engineering, it does have disadvantages. Since breeding relies on the ability to mate two
organisms to move genes, trait improvement is basically limited to those traits that already exist
within that species. Genetic engineering, on the other hand, physically removes the genes from
one organism and places them into the other. This eliminates the need for mating and allows
the movement of genes between organisms of any species. Therefore, the potential traits that
can be used are virtually unlimited.

Breeding is also less precise than genetic engineering. In breeding, half of the genes from each
parent are passed on to the offspring. This may include many undesirable genes for traits that
are not wanted in the new organism. Genetic engineering, however, allows for the movement of
a single, or a few, genes.

The improvement of crops with the use of genetics has been occurring for years. Traditionally,
crop improvement was accomplished by selecting the best-looking plants/seeds and saving
them to plant for the next year’s crop.

Plant breeding is an important tool but has limitations. First, breeding can only be done between
two plants that can sexually mate with each other. This limits the new traits that can be added to
those that already exist in that species. Second, when plants are mated, (crossed), many traits
are transferred along with the trait of interest including traits with undesirable effects on yield
potential.

Genetic engineering is a new type of genetic modification. It is the purposeful addition of a

foreign gene or genes to the genome of an organism. A gene holds information that will give the
organism a trait. Genetic engineering is not bound by the limitations of traditional plant breeding.
Genetic engineering physically removes the DNA from one organism and transfers the gene(s)
for one or a few traits into another. Since crossing is not necessary, the 'sexual' barrier between
species is overcome. There- fore, traits from any living organism can be transferred into a plant.
This method is also more specific in that a single trait can be added to a plant.

The Geologic Time Scale

The geologic time scale (or GTS) is the timeline of the history of the Earth which is based on the
rock record. Geologic time is subdivided into hierarchal intervals, the largest being eon, followed
by era, period, and epoch, respectively.

These subdivisions of geologic time are based on the significant events in the Earth’s history as
interpreted from the rock record. The mass extinction event, which led to the extinction of the
dinosaurs marks the boundary between the Mesozoic era (age of the reptiles) and the

Cenozoic era (age of mammals).

Fossils are also useful in determining the relative ages of rocks. It was William ‘Strata’ Smith
(1769-1839) that observed that each layer or strata of sedimentary rock contain a distinct
assemblage of fossils, which can be used to establish equivalence (correlation) between rock
units separated by long distances. Moreover, he observed that these fossils succeed at each
other vertically in a definite order.

Major Extinction Events

Ordovician–Silurian extinction events :

Two events occurred that killed off 27% of all families, 57% of all genera, and 60% to 70% of all
species. Together they are ranked by many scientists as the second largest of the five major
extinctions in Earth's history in terms of the percentage of genera that became extinct.

The spread of anoxia (the absence of oxygen) greatly affected the organisms that lived in this
time period.

Late Devonian extinction: (Devonian–Carboniferous transition)

At the end of the Frasnian Age in the later part(s) of the Devonian Period, a prolonged series of
extinctions eliminated about 19% of all families, 50% of all genera, and at least 70% of all
species. This extinction event lasted perhaps as long as 20 million years. The causes of these
extinctions are unclear. Leading hypotheses include global cooling, oceanic volcanism, and the
impact of a comet or another extraterrestrial body.

Permian–Triassic extinction event

Earth's largest extinction killed 57% of all families, 83% of all genera, and 90% to 96% of all
species (53% of marine families, 84% of marine genera, about 96% of all marine species, and
an estimated 70% of land species, including insects). The "Great Dying" had an enormous
effect on land, it ended the primacy of mammal-like reptiles. Suggested mechanisms for the
event include one or more large meteor impact events, massive volcanism.

Triassic–Jurassic extinction event

About 23% of all families, 48% of all genera (20% of marine families and 55% of marine
genera), and 70% to 75% of all species became extinct. Most non-dinosaurian archosaurs and
most of the large amphibians were eliminated, leaving dinosaurs with little terrestrial
competition. The extinctions were attributed to gradual climate change, sea-level fluctuations, or
a pulse of oceanic acidification.

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event

About 17% of all families, 50% of all genera, and 75% of all species became extinct. In the
seas, all the ammonites, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs disappeared and the percentage of
sessile animals (those unable to move about) was reduced to about 33%. All non-avian
dinosaurs became extinct during that time. Mammals and birds emerged as dominant large land
animals.

It is now generally thought that the extinction was caused by the impact of a massive comet or
asteroid 10 to 15 km (6 to 9 mi) wide which devastated the global environment, mainly through a
lingering impact winter which halted photosynthesis in plants and plankton. This was bolstered
by the discovery of the 180-kilometer-wide crater in the Gulf of Mexico's

Yucatán Peninsula in the early 1990s. Other contributing factors to the extinction may have
been volcanic eruptions, climate change, and sea-level change.