IB Biology

Option B-2
Biotechnology in Agriculture

Made by Sadha Satya Lotan

Material (including image source) is taken from ib.bioninja.com and https://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/ib-extras
1. Transgenic Organisms
• Definition: - genetically modified organisms - using genes from another
species

• Examples:
• Glyphosate (herbicide) Resistant Soybean Crops
• Hepatitis B Vaccine in Tobacco Plants
• Amflora potato (more suitable for paper and adhesive industries)

• Identify and isolate gene of interest  Deliver to host cells

 Select successful ones
 2. Gene Identification
• Open Reading Frame: a significant length of DNA from start codon to stop codon
• 1 codon (3 bases) for 1 amino acid
• Read from 5’ end to 3’ end
• Start codon: ATG (in DNA) or AUG (in mRNA)
• Stop codon: TGA, TAG, TAA; or UGA, UAG, UAA

Start codon codes for amino acid (Methionine)

Stop codon doesn’t code for amino acid

How many amino acid?

5' C G A U G C G A A C U A C G U G C A A U G A C U A A C A U 3’
Why doesn’t stop at the first stop codon?
Note: human genome has 3x109 bases
 3. Gene Delivery
1. Physical Delivery:
1.1. Electroporation: apply electric charge to cells to increase permeability
1.2. Microinjection: directly inject recombinant DNA into single host cell
1.3. Biolistics: coat recombinant DNA onto gold particles, then fire into tissues

2. Chemical Delivery:
2.1. Calcium chloride (CaCl2): increase permeability of cell membrane
2.2. Liposome: - liposome is lipid bilayer vesicle (note: cell membrane is also lipid bilayer)
- store DNA in liposome and fuse into cell through endocytosis

3. Vector Delivery: using bacterium or virus that can infect host cell (higher effectivity)
3. Gene Delivery – Plant Transgenesis
Protoplast: plant cells with cell wall removed
No cell wall  may take up DNA more easily

Recombinant DNA is either taken up into

chromosome or chloroplast DNA

If transferred into chloroplast, the DNA will not be

present in the pollen (next offspring)
• Bad: Future offspring does not have the DNA
• Good: DNA will not accidentally escape to wild
plants via cross-pollination or cross contamination
 4. Gene Expression – Controlling the
Expression
• Target gene can be linked to other sequences to control the expression

• Promoter sequence (compulsory): NOT start codon but needed to start

transcription or gene expression
• Promoter only  Moderate level of gene expression

• Enhancer sequence and activator protein  High level

• Silencer sequence and repressor protein  Low level
 4. Gene Expression – Marker Genes
• To indicate successful uptake of gene
• Most commonly used marker: antibiotic resistance
5. GM Crops – Glyphosate Resistance Soybean
• Glyphosate  herbicide
• Use Agrobacterium tumefaciens
They can insert tumor-inducing plasmid or Ti plasmid into plant cells

Risk of cross contamination, transferring

the glyphosate resistance to weeds

Risk is reduced by transferring the gene

to chloroplast
5. GM Crops – Hepatitis B Vaccine in Tobacco Plants

• Hepatitis B is a liver disease in humans caused by a virus (HBV)

• Vaccination: introducing antigenic fragments (virus proteins) to
develop specific memory cells
• Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) infects the tissue of tobacco plants
 5. GM Crops – Amflora Potataoes
• Potatoes has 2 forms of starch: (1) a branched form (amylopectin = 80%)
(2) an unbranched form (amylose = 20%)
• Amylopectin is good for industrial purposes (adhesives, textiles, paper, etc.)
• Amylose forms a gel which makes potato starch less stable and more
difficult to use for industrial purposes

• Reduce amylose by inhibiting enzymes that produce amylose

Inserting Amflora gene which produces antisense mRNA
 it will bind to normal mRNA  no enzyme production

Use Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Review Questions
1. What are start and stop codon?
2. What is open reading frame?
3. What is the name of gene delivery method that applies electric charges on
cells?
4. What are the differences in introducing DNA into chromosome and into
chloroplast?
5. What is the usage of marker gene? Give an example of it
6. What is the name of the bacteria used in producing glyphosate resistance
soybeans? What does it usually do to plants?
7. What is the name of virus used in producing Hepatitis B Vaccine?