BSC 310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Hybridization Probe, Agrobacterium Tumefaciens, Plasmid
Recombinant DNA and Biotechnology
Biotechnology is an industrial process that uses the scientific research on DNA for practical
benefits. Biotechnology is synonymous with genetic engineeringbecause the genes of an
organism are changed during the process and the DNA of the organism is recombined.
Recombinant DNA and biotechnology can be used to form proteins not normally produced in
a cell. In addition, bacteria that carry recombinant DNA can be released into the
environment to increase the fertility of the soil, serve as an insecticide, or relieve pollution.
Tools of biotechnology. The basic process of recombinant DNA technology revolves around
the activity of DNA in the synthesis of protein. By intervening in this process, scientists can
change the nature of the DNA and of the gene make-up of an organism. By inserting genes
into the genome of an organism, the scientist can induce the organism to produce a protein
it does not normally produce.
The technology of recombinant DNA has been made possible in part by extensive research
on microorganisms during the last century. One important microorganism in recombinant
DNA research is Escherichia coli (E. coli). The biochemistry and genetics ofE. coli are well
known, and its DNA has been isolated and made to accept new genes. The DNA can then be
forced into fresh cells of E. coli, and the bacteria will begin to produce the proteins specified
by the foreign genes. Such altered bacteria are said to have been transformed.
Interest in recombinant DNA and biotechnology heightened considerably in the 1960s and
1970s with the discovery of restriction enzymes. These enzymes catalyze the opening of a
DNA molecule at a “restricted” point, regardless of the DNA's source. Moreover, certain
restriction enzymes leave dangling ends of DNA molecules at the point where the DNA is
open. (The most commonly used restriction enzyme is namedEcoRl.) Foreign DNA can then
be combined with the carrier DNA at this point. An enzyme called DNA ligase is used to form
a permanent link between the dangling ends of the DNA molecules at the point of union
(Figure 1 ).
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Figure 1
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Document Summary
Biotechnology is an industrial process that uses the scientific research on dna for practical benefits. Biotechnology is synonymous with genetic engineeringbecause the genes of an organism are changed during the process and the dna of the organism is recombined. Recombinant dna and biotechnology can be used to form proteins not normally produced in a cell. In addition, bacteria that carry recombinant dna can be released into the environment to increase the fertility of the soil, serve as an insecticide, or relieve pollution. The basic process of recombinant dna technology revolves around the activity of dna in the synthesis of protein. By intervening in this process, scientists can change the nature of the dna and of the gene make-up of an organism. By inserting genes into the genome of an organism, the scientist can induce the organism to produce a protein it does not normally produce.
