Biological Sciences
Gene Technology
Gene technology refers to the manipulation and modification of genes for various purposes, such as creating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), gene therapy, and genetic engineering. It involves techniques like gene cloning, gene editing, and gene transfer to study gene function and modify genetic traits. Gene technology has applications in agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology, contributing to advancements in various fields.
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6 Key excerpts on "Gene Technology"
eBook - PDFGene Editing
Technologies and Applications
- Yuan-Chuan Chen, Shiu-Jau Chen, Yuan-Chuan Chen, Shiu-Jau Chen(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
In this chapter, current scenario of GM crops and different molecular testing tools are described in brief. Keywords: biotechnology, genetic engineering, transgenic plants, molecular testing, polymerase chain reaction, enzymes linked Immuno-sorbent assay 1. Introduction Biotechnology is a set of scientific tools in which living organisms are used for the welfare of mankind. This technique is efficiently used to modify and improve plants, animals and other microorganisms to increase their value. Biotechnology has a very wide range of applications and almost every field of daily science get benefit from this technology. Application of biotechnology in the field of agriculture has been practiced for a long time as people have wanted to improve agricultur-ally important crops by selection and breeding. In 1970s with the advancements in molecular biology, researchers were able to modify DNA which is a chemical building block and specify the features of living organisms at molecular level. This modification in genetic material or DNA is called as recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering [1]. With the involvement of genetic engineering in agriculture, one can transfer useful hereditary/genetic information from distant sources into targeted crop which was not possible through traditional breeding methods. This genetic information is coded in the form of DNA or genes. Genes from any living organisms (human, animal, plant and microorganism) could be easily manipulated 79 Gene Editing -Technologies and Applications and transferred into other organisms to enhance their value. Organisms artificially modified at genome level using genetic engineering tools are termed as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Microorganisms, i.e., bacteria and viruses have been genetically modified for the production of different kinds of medicines, pharmaceu-ticals and food ingredients [2].
eBook - PDF- Colin J Sanderson(Author)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- WSPC(Publisher)
Chapter 6 Genetic Engineering “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke , Profiles of The Future (1961) 141 The term genetic engineering was not coined by people who were defen-sive about their occupation. It could have been “DNA manipulation” or “cutting and splicing DNA”. The fathers of this science knew they were opening a new branch of science equivalent to aeronautical engineering or computer engineering. The first genetic engineers were aware that what they were doing would profoundly change our lives, and it has. In this chapter I want to introduce the technology. A basic understanding of how genetic engineering works helps to open up the big picture. It is not magic, but it is clever and not particularly difficult. It is part of under-standing how living organisms work, although it must always be remem-bered that our knowledge is incomplete and really the most exciting stuff is yet to come. The sequencing of the human genome is the basis for the future, as more organisms are sequenced and the function of more genes is determined. It will be the next generation who open up this technology in a way that I can hardly imagine. Much of genetic engineering depends on finding genes or parts of genes, in one part of nature and applying them in the laboratory to open up new ways of exploring life. This is done by gene cloning . Cloning has several connotations in biology, but is simply the ability to make exact copies. This might refer to a clone of cells, in which a single cell is manipulated into a container and allowed to grow. All the cells in the container are identical. Most commercial fruit trees and vines are clones because they are made from cuttings. Cloned animals are produced by taking the genome from one individual and inserting it into an egg, which has had its own genome removed. The offspring is genetically Understanding Genes & GMOs 142 identical to the donor of the DNA.
eBook - PDF- Andrew S. Reynolds(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Those who believe life to be the sacred creation of a supernatural being are understandably opposed to this development, but many secular people also have concerns about the safety of GMOs, and about the political, economic, and social implications of the further concentration of control over food and health resources by private profit-seeking interests in a competitive capitalist system. Traditional gene manipulation techniques were comparatively crude and dependent on trial-and-error “shotgun” approaches that involved either inserting the foreign DNA by means of a viral or bacterial vector, injection via micropipette, or by a delivery system known as a “gene gun.” The results would then need to be screened to determine whether the intended DNA sequence had been successfully integrated into the host genome, and if possible where in the genome the insertion had occurred. In addition to being able to “read” the genetic code of DNA, scientists have also learned how to design and synthesize specific DNA sequences from its nucleotide “building blocks,” which has led to the common talk of scientists also “writing” in the language of DNA. The term “genetic engineering,” then, dates back to the 1970s, but its use really took off in the late 1990s (according to the PubMed database of 142 UNDERSTANDING METAPHORS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES biomedical and life science literature). Talk of gene therapy also grew in the 1990s and occurrences of “molecular medicine” have sharply increased in the last 10 years. “Engineered cell therapy” is a new term just gaining atten- tion in the last several years. But one of the most significant developments recently in the discourse of genetic engineering is the effort to “edit” the genes or genomes of humans and other organisms.
eBook - PDFBiology Today
An Issues Approach
- Eli Minkoff, Pamela Baker(Authors)
- 2003(Publication Date)
- Garland Science(Publisher)
Along the way, a complete map of the location of these nucleotide sequences on the chromosomes was also produced. All of this information is stored in an enormous database that is publicly available for use by any scientist in the world. A tremendous amount of basic molecular biology has been discovered in the course of the Human Genome Project that produced this database. As a tool for biological research, this database potentially offers new ways of studying everything else in biology. In addition, the project has spawned many practical advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering. Genetic Engineering Changes the Way That Genes Are Transferred Genetic engineering is the direct alteration of individual genotypes. It is also called recombinant DNA technology or gene splicing, terms which are used interchangeably. Human genes can be inserted into human cells for therapeutic purposes (gene therapy, p. 100). In addition, because all species carry their genetic information in DNA and use the same genetic code, genes can be moved from one species to another. The uses of genetic engineering in plants are discussed in Chapter 11. Here we see some of the applications of genetic engineering for human medicine. Methods of genetic engineering Whether the ‘engineered’ gene is one from the same species or a different species, the techniques are much the same. All these technologies depend on being able to cut and reassemble the genetic material in predictable ways. This is possible owing to the discovery of special enzymes called restriction enzymes. Restriction enzymes. Restriction enzymes are enzymes used to cut DNA at specific sites. There are several hundred restriction enzymes cur-rently known and each cuts DNA at a different nucleotide sequence; these target sites are generally about four to eight nucleotides long ( Fig-ure 4.1).
- Robert N. Trigiano, Dennis J. Gray, Robert N. Trigiano, Dennis J. Gray(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
423 33 Genetic Engineering Technologies Zhijian T. Li, Sadanand A. Dhekney, and D.J. Gray CONCEPTS Over the last three decades, great advancements have been made to develop transformation • methodologies. This has resulted in the identification of several reliable transformation techniques that can be used routinely to transform plant cells and to produce transgenic plants of many crop species. Genetic engineering technologies complement conventional breeding efforts by providing • unique tools to stably incorporate foreign genetic materials and novel characteristics into target plants without the hindrance of biological barriers. Transfer of foreign DNA into plant cells and plastids can be accomplished by a variety • of biological, physical, and chemical means, among which the most commonly used are Agrobacterium -mediated transformation, protoplast-mediated transformation, and micro-projectile bombardment. The incorporation of transformation technologies into contemporary plant improvement • programs has yielded new cultivars with improved agronomic traits. Genetic engineering of crop plants represents a major milestone in modern agricultural science. The advent of recombinant DNA technology in the early 1970s and the subsequent development of DNA transfer techniques provided exciting opportunities for plant scientists to isolate and utilize useful genes from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms to confer novel traits on plants. Technological advancements in plant tissue culture techniques facilitated introduction of both native and foreign genes into the plant genome and the production of transgenic plants. Transgenic plants expressing novel traits now are being widely cultivated for their improved yield, quality, and other value-added characteristics. It should be noted, however, that in most instances genetic engineering techniques provide only an alternative approach to conventional breeding programs.
- Bansal, P B(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Genetech(Publisher)
2 Agricultural Biotechnology As in many other areas of technology, the introduction of a new technology such as agricultural biotechnology may depend on the perceived balance between the benefits of the technology and the potential risks to the environment and human health. Biology has been used for millennia to provide food and other products for use by humans. It is used to make food palatable or safe, and many mechanisms have been .discovered. that enable foods to be .modified. using organisms (usually micro-organisms). Bread, beer, wine, cheese, tofu and yoghourt are amongst the modified food products we use all the time. The wild, undomesticated relatives of all food crops are almost unrecognisable in comparison to that which we grow in fields today. Genetic modification of crop plants has been practised since the crops were first identified. The first human to choose to keep the best seeds for growing in the following season rather than eating them was practising biotechnology. Modern biotechnology is seen as different to traditional selection, for it permits the transfer of characteristics that could not be achieved naturally. Scientists often argue that the new techniques are simply an extension of the continuum of selection and genetic modification that has been used over hundreds of years. These traditional techniques have changed markedly during the 20 century as our understanding of the biological processes has improved. Deliberate mutation and many other artificial techniques have allowed selection of characteristics between weakly compatible organisms. There are many scientists who believe that the transfer of genes between non-compatible organisms is truly different from traditional techniques and constitutes something that is really new.
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