Biotechnology and its Applications Test - 6

The gene for antisense polygalactouronase introduced into a plants leads to delayed ripening of fruit to prevent spoiling of fruit.

The seeds of golden rice are yellow in colour due to presence of provitamin A in entire gene. This rice is natural source of vitamin A along with starch and proteins.

Flavr Savr tomato has thick fruit coat that enhance the self-life of the fruits and do not get spoiled soon. Common Indian tomato have thin coat and easily get destroyed during transportation and handling.

Genetically modified (GM) Arabidopsis produces double stranded RNA to knock out specific parasitic genes in the nematode that harms the crops by silencing specific mRNA of nematodes.

Cry gene produce toxin protein that chocks the gut of insects in presence of alkaline pH to cause death of insects. It is not effective against rodents.

The cry1Ac gene in Bt Brinjal is under the transcriptional control of an enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (CaMV35S) promoter, which ensures the gene is expressed in all the Brinjal tissue throughout its complete life-cycle.

Using Agrobacterium vectors, nematodes-specific genes were introduced into the host plant. Agrobacterium naturally inserts DNA into plants by its Ti plasmid.

Cry gene produce protein crystals in the insects gut as alkaline medium renders it insoluble and the activated toxin binds to surface of midgut epithelial cells and creates pores that cause cell swelling and death of the insect.

Conventional breeding programme takes several years to develops a new variety of crop. By use of biotechnology, required gene can be directly inserted into host plant to get required result.

Use of genetically modified crops may increase crop production many times without use of chemicals and fertilizers. Gene coding form higher nutrient and resistance to disease can be incorporated in crop.

Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium forms protein crystals during particular phase of growth. The crystal of toxic protein has insecticidal protein. This protein get activated in alkaline medium in the gut of insects and kills them.

Alpha-1-antitrysin gene is used to treat emphysema disease. This disease causes breakdown of alveoli cell and reducing the surface area for exchange of gases.

The main challenge for production of insulin using rDNA technique was getting insulin assembled into a mature form

Hereditary diseases are due to defects in gene. Gene can be corrected at embryonic stage by gene therapy technique in which genes are inserted into person cells or tissue to take over the function of defective gene.

Two peptide chains A and B in insulin are linked via sulphur to form a disulphide linkage or disulphide bridge.

Radioactively labeled probe can be detected by autoradiography. A single stranded DNA or RNA tagged with a radioactive molecule is allowed to hybridise to its complementary DNA in a clone of cells followed by detecting using autoradiography.

Pro-insulin differ from mature insulin as pro-insulin contain C-peptide which is absent in mature insulin.

Detection of bands on a southern blot is done by probe that contain radioactive single stranded DNA or RNA.

Transgenic cow Rossie produced human protein enriched milk that contain 2.4 gram of protein per litre. The milk contained the human alpha-lacalbumin protein.

Transgenic model for treatment of disease is available today for cancer, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis disease.

Toxicity of drug on human can be studied by using transgenic animal by Inoculating gene that make them more sensitive to toxic substances and exposing to toxic substance to be studied.

Transgenic animals are used to study the toxicity effects of certain chemical in which animals are made to carry gene which make them more sensitive to toxic substance and exposed to toxic substance to be studied.

Useful biological products are obtained from transgenic animals to treat disease like Emphysema, Cystic fibrosis and Phenylketonuria.

In 1997, an American company got patent rights on Basmati rice through the US patent and trademark office. This allowed the company to sell a new variety of Basmati in the US and abroad.

The right granted to the company or organization of which others cannot use it is called biopatent. This right is given as intellectual right to the company.