Genetic engineering is DNA manipulation for customizing the characteristics of organisms in a specific way. Sometimes, the process is also called a genetic modification. A whole region of DNA can be deleted or only a base pair can be modified.
How Does The Genetic Engineering Work?
For explaining genetic engineering, a protein named insulin can be used for regulating the sugar levels within our blood.
- Insulin is generally produced within the pancreas. But for patients with type 1 diabetes, insulin production can be a problem.
- Diabetic patients need to inject insulin for controlling their blood sugar levels.
- Genetic engineering is used for producing a type of insulin that is very similar to bacteria and yeast.
- Humulin, which has been genetically modified has been licensed for human use since 1982.
Process of Genetic Engineering
- At first, a circular DNA called a plasmid is produced from the yeast and the bacteria cells.
- The molecular scissors then help for cutting the circular plasmid with the help of the restriction enzymes. This is one of the pieces of information provided by MyBioSource.com.
- The gene which is required for human insulin can be inserted within the gap of the plasmid. This plasmid can be modified genetically.
- The cell rapidly divides and starts creating the insulin.
- For creating large amounts of cells, the customized yeast or bacteria can be grown in the huge vessels of fermentation, where all the nutrients are included. The more insulin is provided with more division of the cells.
- After the entire fermentation process, the whole mixture is filtered for releasing the insulin.
- Finally, the insulin is filtered and packaged within the insulin pens and bottles for distribution to diabetic patients.
Some Other Functions of Genetic Engineering
In 1973, the first organism was genetically modified to create the bacterium.
The same mechanism was applied to the mice in the year 1974
Genetically modified food was made available in the year 1994
Including agriculture, technology, and scientific research, genetic engineering has many other useful applications.
Genetic engineering has been applied to improve plant resilience to increase the growth of tomatoes, potatoes, and rice.
The mechanism has been applied to sheep for producing a therapeutic milk protein that can be used for treating worms like cystic fibrosis, which also helped scientists know more about the disease named Alzheimer’s.
Relationship of Nematode Worm and the Alzheimer’s Disease in Genetic Engineering
The worm has in total of 300 cells within the whole nervous system, making it very easy for learning about Alzheimer’s.
When the nerve cells are labeled with green fluorescent protein as they are near to transparent, the activity and the location of various proteins and structures can be easily seen under the microscope.
The nerve cells are thus genetically engineered with the APP gene worms for effectively using in Alzheimer’s.
Conclusion
All the above-mentioned steps and process clearly signify that genetic engineering has huge benefits in the health, agriculture, and research sectors. Many scientists are using the mechanism for their research in the health and agriculture sector. Both humans and plants can get benefits from the modification in the genes.