In the past 25 years, we have learned a lot about DNA, and are now able to manip
ID: 182064 • Letter: I
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In the past 25 years, we have learned a lot about DNA, and are now able to manipulate genes. Plants are genetically modified to possess desirable traits such as resistance to disease and to grow with less water and fertilizer. There are even certain ldaho potatoes that all grow to the same size, so McDonald's french fries are the same length! Human genes are inserted into bacteria to inexpensively produce drugs that treat diseases. Soon, non-life threatening cosmetic changes will be available for those who can afford them.Explanation / Answer
Genetic engeneering is the science which deals with the modification of DNA by the use of of Biotechnology processes to change or modify a specific organism's characteristics by inserting new genetic information into the existing cells.
One example of Genetic engeneering is production of Glow-in-the-dark cats in 2007, scientists in South Korea changed the DNA of a cat so that its fur can glow in the dark, and then cloned other cats from it, making the world’s first glowing cats.
This creation is a fascinating character for the pet lovers, because they help in detecting the cat in dark, These genetically modified glow-in-the-dark cats are stylish pets, but they also help in AIDS Research. The cats were injected by an antiviral gene from a rhesus macaque monkey and this gene helped the cat resisting feline AIDS, and also a gene which can produce the fluorescent protein GFP.
Infection-fighting proteins called restriction factors, are produced by both cats and humans, but they do not resist AIDS. At the same time restriction factors found in monkeys, like the factor produced by the gene of rhesus macaque, are capable of fighting HIV and FIV.
Aequorea victoria a protein also called Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). A non-bioluminescent organism is genetically modified to emit light by incorporating into it's genome the DNA sequence encoding GFP .
To create the kittens, Poeschla and his colleagues used a rhesus monkey gene which gives resistance to feline AIDS and a gene that allows certain jellyfish to produce an eerie green glow, when exposed to ultraviolet light. Both these genes were inserted into the egg cells obtained from female cats. The eggs were fertilized and then transferred to a surrogate mother cat.
Both the monkey gene and the jellyfish gene were inserted into egg cells by using a virus which does not cause the disease.
At first, bioluminescence tags were used in single-celled organisms. Burt later the proteins are used in multi-celled organisms like cats, here the cats that are “tagged” with the glowing GFP protein can also produce a protein which protects them against the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). It is the virus which causes feline AIDS, and it is compared to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the AIDS .Due to this reason, the research involving FIV can also be applied to humans, this can help both cats and humans against their struggle of AIDS.
A team of American and Japanese scientists injected the antiviral gene and the GFP gene into feline eggs, they found almost all offspring obtained from these modified eggs have, restriction factor genes, having both fluorescent and AIDS-fighting proteins in their bodies. At present only the blood cells of these animals are resistant to FIV. The next step would be to see if the gene makes cats completely resistant to FIV or not.
The reason behind choosing cats for this study is they’re the only mammals after humans and chimpanzees who have a naturally acquired AIDS virus, as explained by scientist Poeschla.
Though the research on transgenic cats is so far concentrated on AIDS, but there are many other diseases which cats and humans share .Genetically modified cats can help in finding solutions to overcome other diseases too.
Transgenic cats can also help to understand the working of the brain and neurological diseases like Alzheimer's, or genetic illnesses and major eye diseases like glaucoma or macular degeneration.
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