-->

General Knowledge Notes For All Competitive Exams - Biology-Part -01

General Knowledge Notes For All Competitive Exams - Biology-Part -01(Download as PDF)

Applications Of Genetic Engineering


At home we prepare food items such as yoghurt (curd), cake, bread, idli and dosa by the action of microorganisms, such as the bacteria and fungi. Brewers use yeast (fungus) to make beer. Antibiotics such as penicillin are obtained from certain fungi. Nowadays, biological processes such as fermentation by microorganisms is being used in industry on a commercial scale for making food, drinks, drugs (medicines) and industrial chemicals. Modern techniques in biotechnology are programming microorganisms for this task.

Protein manufacture :
We are well familiar that bacteria and yeasts have been used for centuries to produce cheese, and alcohol, and more recently antibiotics. Currently, plasmids in bioengineered bacteria carry some human genes and these genes are expressed to give large quantities of human proteins which are clinically useful. The development of recombinant DNA technology and gene cloning has generated
a new industry for manufacturing proteins. Earlier valuable proteins could be obtained from eukaryotes in small amounts and at heavy expense, but now these can be produced in large quantities. 
For example: Until sometime back, growth hormone was available only in tiny amounts and was extremely expensive as it had to be extracted from endocrine glands of certain animals. Today, it can be made available in large quantities through recombinant DNA technology. 
In 1982 production of human insulin became the first commercial success of recombinant DNA technology. There are several proteins of therapeutic (medical) value which are available now through recombinant DNA technology. These are cloned human gene products approved for use or being developed. 
Here lets know the names of proteins and their uses:
  •  Insulin - Diabetes mellitus
  •  Growth hormone - Pituitary dwarfism
  •  Erythropoietin - Anaemia
  •  Interferons - viral infections
  •  Interleukin 2 - Cancer
  •  Clotting factor VIII - Haemophilia A
  •  Clotting factor IX - Haemophilia B
  •  Monoclonal antibodies - Infectious diseases
  •  Tissue Plasminogen factor - Heart attack
Enzymes:
 Enzymes have also been produced from cloned genes. Lets have the names of such enzymes and their uses: 
  •  Proteases-  manufacture of detergents, meat tenderisers.
  •  Amylases - manufacture of beer, bread and textiles
  • Glucoisomerases - to make corn syrup, which is sweeter than sucrose and used to flavour soft drinks
 Antibiotics:
Since the discovery of Penicillin in 1920s, more than 6000 antibiotics have been isolated from various microorganisms and have resulted in an enormous improvement in human health. Research is in progress to genetically engineer biosynthetic pathways for the synthesis of antibiotics. Novel antibiotics have also been obtained through genetic manipulation.Some of the common antibiotics and their source organisms are as follows:
  • Tetracyclin -  Streptomyces sp
  • Chlorotetracycline - Streptomyces auriefaciens
  • Chloramphenicol -  S. venezuelae
  • Cycloheximide - S. griseus
  • Streptomycin - S. griseus
  • Cephalosporin - Cephalosporium acremonium
  • Penicillin - Penicillium chrysogenum
 Vaccines:
Bioengineered vaccines have been developed for rabies and hepatitis B. A gene for the antigen protein is inserted into a plasmid and the bacteria containing recombinant DNA then generate large quantities of the protein. The protein is added to the vaccine. Antibodies immediately form against the antigen when vaccinated.

Related Posts

Post a Comment

Labels

General Knowledge 902 General Studies 719 Central Govt. Job 308 General Tamil 172 Mock Test 133 PAPER - I 120 Civics 101 Indian Constitutions 91 Library Science Quiz 80 Anna University Jobs 72 Library and Information Science Paper II 71 Librarian Jobs 68 Computer Science Quiz 64 History Quiz 59 General English 56 NEET 2017 Model Questions 53 Geography 45 Library and Information Science 35 Computer Science 34 Computer Science PAPER - III 32 History Paper II 32 6th Tamil 30 Computer Science PAPER - II 22 Library and Information Science Paper III 19 PAPER - II 18 10th Science 17 General Science Mock Test 17 Life Science Quiz 17 6th Standard Science 16 9th Science 14 Nobel Awards 14 CBSC NET 13 History Mock Test 13 PAPER - III 13 Medical Physicist 12 Economics Paper II 10 8th Science 9 7th Tamil 8 Commerce Paper-2 8 Economics Paper III 8 History Paper III 8 NCERT Text Book 8 General Tamil Quiz 7 Home Science Paper II 7 Labour Welfare Paper III 7 8th Tamil 6 Anthropology Paper II 6 Anthropology Paper III 6 Arab Culture and Islamic Studies Paper II 6 Arab Culture and Islamic Studies Paper III 6 Archaeology Paper II 6 Archaeology Paper III 6 Comparative Literature Paper II 6 Comparative Literature Paper III 6 Comparative Study of Religions Paper II 6 Comparative Study of Religions Paper III 6 Criminology Paper II 6 Criminology Paper III 6 Education Paper - II 6 Education Paper - III 6 English Paper - II 6 English Paper - III 6 Environmental Sciences Paper - II 6 Environmental Sciences Paper - III 6 Forensic Science Paper II 6 Forensic Science Paper III 6 Geography Paper II 6 Geography Paper III 6 Home Science Paper III 6 Human Rights and Duties Paper II 6 Human Rights and Duties Paper III 6 Indian Culture Paper - II 6 Indian Culture Paper - III 6 International and Area Studies Paper II 6 International and Area Studies Paper III 6 Labour Welfare Paper II 6 Law Paper - II 6 Law Paper - III 6 Management Paper - II 6 Management Paper - III 6 Mass Communication Paper II 6 Mass Communication Paper III 6 Museology and Conservation Paper II 6 Museology and Conservation Paper III 6 Music Paper II 6 Music Paper III 6 Performing Arts Paper II 6 Performing Arts Paper III 6 Philosophy Paper II 6 Philosophy Paper III 6 Physical Education Paper - II 6 Physical Education Paper - III 6 10th Tamil 5 Commerce Paper-3 5 Folk Literature Paper II 5 Folk Literature Paper III 5 Geography Mock Test 5 Linguistics Paper II 5 Linguistics Paper III 5 7th Science 4 9th Tamil 4 Chemistry 4 Geography Quiz 4 11th Tamil 3 6th Standard History 3 7th Tamil Mock Test 3 9th standard Tamil Quiz 3 CSIR-NET - Chemistry 3 Computer Science Video 2 Mathematics Paper II 2 CSIR-NET - Physics 1 Civil Engineer Mock Test 1 Computer Science Paper II 1 General Knowledge Mock Test 1 Geology 1 Interview Questions 1 January Current Affairs - 2016 1 LIS Questions 1 Library Science Paper II 1 Life Science 1 Life Science Paper II 1 Mathematics Quiz 1
Subscribe Our Posting