Genetically Modified Organisms

Gene Technology Name University Date Genetically Modified Organisms Biological basis underlying science behind the technology Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) refers to organisms whose genetic material has been changed using genetic modification methods. GMOs supply genetically modified foods and have been widely used in research and to produce goods other than food. Examples may include plants that have been modified for pest resistance; lab animals manipulated to display human illnesses, such as sickle cell anemia; and even genes from a glowing jellyfish put in rabbit for an art piece (Altieri & Rosset, 2009). In genetic engineering, geneticists take out one or more genes from the genetic makeup of another organism, such as a bacteria, virus, or animal, and attach them onto the genetic makeup the organism they want to change. By adding these new genes, geneticists hope the plant will express the qualities associated with those genes (Ho& Lim, 2007). In the creation of a GMO, a new combination of genes must made first using enzymes cut and joined to DNA from unrelated sources into one stretch. A parasitic bit of DNA in bacteria that multiplies by itself is used so that the piece can be replicated millions to tens of millions times. The replicas are then brought into the embryos or cells or an organism, such as corn or mouse, so that it can be inserted into the cell's genome. Geneticists may either merge the genes into a vector which then introduce them into the cells or use mechanical means to force the foreign constructs into the cells (Suzuki, 2009). Mechanical means entail injection with a thin glass pipette in the embryos case, or use gene guns to fire tungsten/ gold coated with DNA construct into cells. Electric fields, in the case of electroporation method, could also be used to create pores in the cell membrane for the admittance of the foreign DNA. The gene carriers or vectors are made from bacteria or viruses that are proficient at getting into cells. The construct is merged to the vector, which sneaks it into the cell. Inside the cell, the construct itself or the vector bearing the construct, is slotted into the genome (Altieri & Rosset, 2009). In the selection and identification of the cells that have taken up the introduce, geneticists use antibiotic resistance indicator genes that are sutured adjacent to the genes to be introduced and by doing so only the cells that have been used up the foreign add will live on. In the case of an embryo, the alien construct introduced into the genome of its cells will make it grow into a GMO while in the case of plants; each cell can be stirred to mature into a GM plant, which hypothetically should have the similar foreign addition in every one of its cells (Suzuki, 2009). Basically, GMOs may be created by means of recombinant DNA technology and reproductive cloning. Reproductive cloning technology produces offspring that are genetically similar to the parent through the shifting of the entire donor nucleus into a host egg while Recombinant DNA technology entails the addition of one or more singular genes from one organism one species into of another. Whole-genome replacemen...