MICROBES IN

MICROBES IN
GENETIC
GENETIC
ENGINEERING……
ENGINEERING……

POOJA.P.RAJAN
POOJA.P.RAJAN
MSc ZOOLOGY
MSc ZOOLOGY
GEMOs(Genetically Engineered
Microorganisms)
• Microorganisms whose genetic material has been altered using recombinant
DNA technology .
• Help produce metabolites of commercial or medical importance such as
insulin,vitamin,aminoacids or enzymes.
• Most reason to prefer microbes- they grow rapidly and easy to cultivate.
• GEMOs have found applications in human health,agriculture,bioremediation
and in industries(food,paper,textiles).
INSULIN
• Insulin is a hormone produced by β-cells of islets of Langerhans of pancreas.
It was discovered by sir Edward Sharpey Schafer (1916) while studying Islets
of Langerhans.
• Pancreas is a mixed gland situated transversely across the upper abdomen
behind stomach and spleen.
• Insulin is a peptide hormone and a central regulator of carbohydrates and fat
metabolism in the body.
• Structure of Human Insulin:
• Chemically Human insulin is small, simple protein composed of 51 amino
acids sequences and has a molecular weight of 5808 Da.
• Insulin hormone is a dimer of a A- chain and a B-chain which are linked
together by a disulphide bond.
• Fredrick Sanger et al (1954) gave the first complete description of insulin.
Insulin consists of two polypeptide chain,
o Chain A- 21 amino acids long
o Chain B-30 amino acids long
o Both chains are joined together by disulphide bond between two cysteine
residue
 • Canadian physician Frederick Banting and Charles.H.Best discovered the
hormone insulin in pancreatic extracts of dogs
• The antidiabetic role of insulin was discovered in 1921
• First recombinant therapeutic protein –Herbert Boyer-1978(Genentech
company-U.S.A)
• In 1982,Eli lily(U.S.A)started to produce human insulin from genetically
engineered bacteria E.coli.It is available in the trade name “humulin”
• The food and drug administration (FDA) ,department of U.S.A approved it
for therapeutic use .
https://youtu.be/glt8iAqK8NQ
• Many mammalian proteins are produced by genetic engineering. For example,
tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is a blood protein that scavenges and
dissolves blood clots that may form in the final stages of the healing process.
• TPA is primarily used in heart patients or others suffering from poor
circulation to prevent the development of clots that can be life-threatening. so
microbially produced TPA is in high demand.
•  blood clotting factors VII, VIII, and IX are critically important for the
formation of blood clots.
• Hemophiliacs suffer from a deficiency of one or more clotting factors and can
therefore be treated with microbially produced clotting factors.
• Human growth hormone (hGH) approved by FDA in 1985,was produced by
modified E.coli containing native human growth hormone gene 
 VACCINES

• A suspension of killed or modified microorganism being injected

into body to stimulate immunity against the pathogens
VACCINE DESCRIPTION APPLICATION COMPANY APPROVED

Recombivax Cloning a gene for Hepatitis B Merck 1986(U.S)

HBsAG in prevention
S.cerevisiae(yeast)

AIDSVAX gp120 of HIV HIV prevention Genentech Not approved

cloned in vaccinia
virus
ACAM2000 Antigenic gene of Small pox Emergent Approved
small pox virus prevention Biosolutions
cloned in vaccinia (U.S.A)
virus
AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION
EXAMPLE GENETIC CHANGE
ORGANISM

Biofertilizer Salmonella nif genes of klebsiella

typhimurium(or any pneumoniae into
harmless soil bacteria) bacteria-capable of
fixing atmospheric
nitrogen

Commercial importance E.coli Recombinant E.coli

with plasmid NAH7 –
indigo production

Insecticidal Cyanobacteria(synecho Mosquitocidal toxin

cystis) gene from Bacillus
thuringiensis
israelensis into
cyanobacteria
• In fact, almost all the hard cheeses made in the United States, and in much
of the West, use a protein that is made from genetically engineered yeast
and bacteria.(Rhizomucor miehei).
• In cheese production, coagulants called rennet are used to clot milk. The
primary enzyme in rennet driving the clotting process is called chymosin,
which acts on milk proteins like casein and makes milk curdle.
• AMA I gene of amaranthes into Saccharomyces cervisiae
-Increases nutritive value
POLLUTION CONTROL-BIOREMEDIATION

• Using microbes to clean up pollution.

• The oil eating SUPERBUG was developed at Generic Electric in 1975 by
Ananda mohan chakrabarty.
• In 1980, he received a patent on a genetically modified Pseudomonas putida
bacterium that would eat up oil spills.
• He was the first person to win patent on a living organism.
• Pseudomonas putida contain
1. OCT plasmid degrading octane,hexane,decane
2. XYL plasmid degrading xylene and toluene
3. CAM plasmid degrading camphor
4. NAH plasmid degrading naphthalene
 • The application of genetic engineering for heavy metals removal has
aroused great interest. For example, Alcaligenes eutrophus AE104
(pEBZ141) was used for chromium removal from industrial wastewater and
the recombinant photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris,
was constructed to simultaneously express mercury transport system and
metallothionein for Hg2+ removal from heavy metal wastewater .
Recent news on GEMOS
• Bacteria engineered to protect bees from pests and pathogens(University of
Texas at Austin). The engineered bacteria live in the guts of honey bees and
act as biological factories, pumping out medicines protecting the bees
against two major causes of colony collapse: Varroa mites and deformed
wing virus. The team engineered one strain of bacteria to target the virus
and another for the mites- promote a helpful RNAi response to viruses in
bees -- and trigger a lethal RNAi response in the mites.
• Genetically engineered plasmid can be used to fight antimicrobial
resistance. The mechanism used to remove antibiotic resistance genes
is the specialized protein, CRISPR-Cas9. It can make cuts just about
anywhere in DNA. Along with CRISPR-Cas9, RNA sequences
homologous to DNA within the antibiotic resistance gene have been
added to the engineered plasmid. These RNAs guide the CRISPR-Cas9
to make the cuts in the right places. The delivery vehicle for the
engineered plasmid is a particular strain of E. faecalis , which
conjugates with E. faecalis of various different strains.(American
Society for Microbiology)
• Antibiotics discovered that kill bacteria in a new way(McMaster University)-
corbomycin and complestatin- The researchers also demonstrated in mice
that these new antibiotics can block infections caused by the drug
resistant Staphylococcus aureus which is a group of bacteria that can cause
many serious infections.
• Specific gut bacteria may be associated with pulmonary arterial
hypertension(American Heart Association). Gut microbiota are constantly
changing, depending on what we eat, our environment and especially our
genetic makeup. However,the bacteria associated with PAH are unique and
do not seem to change.
REFERENCES

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/genetically_modified/
• Biotechnology :- V.Kumaresan -Saras Publication.