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Recombinant DNA Technology
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Describes the process of creating recombinant DNA molecules. Also explores current & possible uses for this biotechnology.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Describes the process of creating recombinant DNA molecules. Also explores current & possible uses for this biotechnology.

Paper Introduction:
Genetics today is on the cutting edge of biological science, and scientists working in this area are involved in a wide variety of pursuits that will have profound implications for our future on this planet, with projects including the creation of new biologic entities, curing diseases, manufacturing synthetic versions of biologic substances, identifying different genetic codes and what they do, and perhaps finding a way to control that genetic information to produce animals with certain characteristics or without certain characteristics, including greater strength, resistance to disease, and a higher yield in meat, eggs, dairy products, or whatever they provide. Geneticists have already accomplished many of these things with grains, plants, and even certain farm animals. They are addressing disease through the creation of new strains of bacteria by means of recombinant DNA

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Recombinant-based proteins and genetically engineered microorganismshave been applied to the agricultural industry to improve the food supply,increase industry productivity, and reduce the adverse effects ofagricultural practices on the environment, and all of the major food groupsare targets for modification by gene replacement or manipulation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins.Kluger, J. Most such disorders have noidentified biochemical defect and no known target gene products, so theyhave not been amenable to the forward genetic approach. and British researchersthat they have genetically engineered sheep and goats to secrete drugs intheir milk as a means of giving the biotech industry a streamlined meansfor producing many pharmaceuticals. The sorts of genetic changes science has been seeking can be seen inthe recently announcement by a combination of U.S. Before livestockstart producing drugs commercially, though, someone must invent ways toextract the drugs from milk, which is a trifling problem compared with thedecade it took to develop transgenic animals ("Animal Pharmacy," 1991, 1 ) Genetic experiments also hold out hope for the cure of diseases withsubstances that do not yet exist or that have not been harnessed to thisparticular purpose. Goats developedat Tufts University and Genzyme Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts,for example, bear the gene for TPA, or tissue plasminogen activator, a drugused to dissolve blood clots in heart-attack patients. Geneticists have already accomplishedmany of these things with grains, plants, and even certain farm animals.They are addressing disease through the creation of new strains of bacteriaby means of recombinant DNA technology. Discover, pp. (1991, June). (1991). The age of genes. Among thebreakthroughs made in recent years have been the production of miniaturehead lettuce, spherical zucchini, broccoflower, and other such delicacies(Kluger, 1993, pp. To create thelivestock, genes were inserted with a needle into fertilized eggs whichwere then returned to the female's uterus. 115-116). Modern genetic engineeringtechniques based on recombinant DNA permit genetic exchanges betweenspecies that do not normally interbreed thus offering the opportunity forus to transcend the limits imposed by nature on hereditary processes.Using these techniques, scientists can manipulate genes individually bydirectly modifying the DNA molecules in which genetic information isencoded. This is followed by various procedures to extend the sequencedetermination from that point until one reaches the actual gene ofinterest. One of the most powerful tools used by biotechnologists today forunderstanding human genetic disorders. This protein is also harmless to humans and othermammals, as well as to birds, fish, many insects, and other forms of life.It is hoped that the gene might protect walnuts against attack by peststhat chomp on leaves or ruin nut kernels. 64-71.Friedmann, T. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1429-1437.Brownlee, S., & Silberner, J. (1991, November 4). 135-136). U.S. In B. ReferencesAnimal pharmacy. Geneticists have engineered new strains of plant to produce morecrops or to change the nature of the crops produced. If it isnot, biotechnologists can rework the gene so that it is more powerful bymodifying the gene by attaching different promoters--segments of genes thatturn its activity on or off, much like a light switch. The field of genetics is entering new territory today that offers awide variety of opportunities for understanding the processes of life in anew way and for controlling those processes to effect deliberate change. D. Agricultural Research, pp. Recombinant DNA is DNA molecules derived from different sources thathave been artificially spliced together in vitro to form novel hybrid DNAmolecules not normally encountered in nature. Genethics. Davis (ed). Mothproofing walnut trees of the future. This means that the technique has the potential to transform thegenes of all species into a global resource that can be used to shape novellife forms obedient to the scientist rather than to the dictates of naturalselection (Suzuki & Knudtson, 1989, pp. U.S. (1991, September 9). One such project has addressed walnuttrees to give them a new weapon that better equips them to battle insectenemies. Molecular medicine. (1989). By 1995,many of these food products will be available on grocery store shelves("Biotechnology and the American agricultural industry," 1991, 429). Other scientists have been working on geneticprotections for different crops. Speculation about the future maybe surpassed by the reality in a very few years. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.Wood, M. Genetic engineers have given experimental walnut trees amothproofing gene borrowed from the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillusthuringiensis, or Bt, which may enable trees to manufacture a powerful BTprotein that kills many destructive insects when they are in theircaterpillar stage. Only a small fraction ofoffspring grew up bearing the foreign genes. Experiments with gene therapy represent a giant stepinto the medical possibilities of the future. (1993, March). Other scientists have rigged thelining of blood vessels with genes that deliver anticlotting drugs, andstill others are exploring genes that could make cells resistant to theAIDS virus (Brownlee & Silberner, 1991, p. News & World Report, pp. (1991, March 2 ). The genetic revolution. The livestock produced in this mannerare called transgenics because their cells contain foreign genes whichdirect the production of proteins with medicinal purposes. Genetics today is on the cutting edge of biological science, andscientists working in this area are involved in a wide variety of pursuitsthat will have profound implications for our future on this planet, withprojects including the creation of new biologic entities, curing diseases,manufacturing synthetic versions of biologic substances, identifyingdifferent genetic codes and what they do, and perhaps finding a way tocontrol that genetic information to produce animals with certaincharacteristics or without certain characteristics, including greaterstrength, resistance to disease, and a higher yield in meat, eggs, dairyproducts, or whatever they provide. Brave new veggies? Tests are beingconducted with leaves from a young orchard, and in about three years, thefirst nuts of the transgenic trees will tell biotechnologists how well thegene is working and what parts of the trees contain the special protein(Wood, 1991, 1 ). This is called genome "walking." What originally seemed acumbersome procedure is now considered an effective approach tounderstanding the bulk of human genetic disease. 1 .Biotechnology and the American agricultural industry. Today, dozens of drugs aremade in vats filled with genetically engineered bacteria, which are mucheasier to manipulate genetically than mammals, but milk can contain 1 to1, times the drug concentration of a lab culture. Its effect depends firston efficient cloning and chromosomal walking methods and more crucially onthe development of an extensive description, or map, of the preciselocation and arrangement of genes and regulatory sequences along the humanchromosomes (Friedmann, 1991, pp. News & World Report, p. Agriculturalresearchers are constantly trying to design better produce with selectivebreeding, the use of mutagens, and genetic engineering. 36-4 ). An advisory committee at theNational Institutes of Health keeps a tight rein on such experiments andrecently approved three gene-therapy proposals to treat cancer and a deadlyinherited form of high cholesterol. 1 -11.-----------------------1 The combinedpowers of recombinant DNA technology and DNA sequencing have been used tobring about an approach called "reverse" genetics, which is conceptuallythe reverse of the traditional forward scheme and which uses as itsstarting point the isolation of pieces of the genome sequences near a geneof interest. Such insects include codlingmoth (also a major pest of apples), navel orangeworm, and Indianmeal moth.Further tests are to determine if the present version of the Bt gene ispowerful enough to knock out the persistent pests of the walnut. 64). 36-4 .Suzuki, D., & Knudtson, P.

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