Transcript DNA, the Blueprint for Life - Mr-Paullers-wiki

DNA, the Blueprint for Life
An organism’s DNA contains all the information necessary
to “build” it up from scratch.
But what if you change it?
You might get something very different!
FYI, this fellow is not genetically modified, he’s just had a
lot of tattoos and surgery.
Genetic Engineering
Genetic Engineering is the science of changing the DNA
to produce organisms with new characteristics.
A bit scary, but exciting, too. Here are some examples...
Make glowing tobacco plants!
Make glowing fish!
Make pigs that produce human
hemoglobin!
Make “roundup ready” soybeans!
Make flying pigs!
Okay, maybe not the flying pigs.
You get the idea, though.
So, in the proud tradition of
making random things glow…
• We’re going to genetically modify some
bacteria.
• But first, a bit of review concerning
bacterial genes.
DNA in Bacteria
•
Bacteria have DNA in two
forms:
1. Bacterial DNA-this
accounts for most of the
DNA in the bacteria, and
everything that is essential
for normal function.
2. Plasmids-these are small
rings of DNA (1-400 kbp),
that can replicate on their
own, and be transferred
from one bacterium to
another. They usually
confer an evolutionary
advantage (ie. antibiotic
resistance).
Uses of Plasmids
•
1.
2.
Plasmids are a popular
tool of molecular
biologists because:
Their small size makes
them easy to understand
and manipulate.
They reproduce multiple
times in single
bacterium, so you can
make a lot of the genes
you want just by doing a
culture, and then remove
them later with
restriction enzymes.
Your Mission…
• Today, you will
genetically modify
bacteria, so that their
plasmids contain a
pGlo gene, taken from
jellyfish.
• This gene will cause
them to fluoresce
under UV light.
Your Mission…
• Today, you will
genetically modify
bacteria, so that their
plasmids contain a
pGlo gene, taken from
jellyfish.
• This gene will cause
them to fluoresce
under UV light.