Guest guest Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 What is genetic modification? JoAnn Guest Jun 01, 2005 19:46 PDT http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/genes/gm_genie/gm_science/index.shtml Genetic modification involves altering an organism's DNA. This can be done by " altering " an existing section of DNA, or by " adding " a new gene altogether. A new gene can be added from one individual to another from the same species, e.g. tomato gene into another tomato plant, or between individuals from two different species, e.g. tomato gene into a fish. It’s possible to transfer genes from one species to another from plant to plant, from animal to plant, from plant to animal or from animal to animal. This is because all genes, no matter where they come from, are made of the same material - DNA. How to add a fish gene to a tomato Scientists have created a frost-resistant tomato plant by adding an antifreeze gene from a cold-water fish to it. The antifreeze gene comes from the cold-water flounder, a fish that can survive in very cold conditions. This is how it was done. The flounder has a gene to make an antifreeze chemical. This is removed from the " chromosomes " within a flounder cell. The antifreeze DNA is joined onto a piece of DNA called a " plasmid " . This hybrid DNA, which is a combination of DNA from 2 different sources, is known as " recombinant DNA " . The recombinant DNA, including the " antifreeze gene " , is placed in a bacterium. The bacterium is allowed to reproduce many times producing lots of " copies " of the recombinant DNA. Tomato plant cells are infected with the bacteria. As a result, the antifreeze gene in the plasmid, in the bacteria becomes integrated into the tomato plant cell DNA. Tomato cells are placed in a growth medium that encourages the cells to grow into plants. Tomato plant seedling is planted. This GM tomato plant contains a copy of the flounder antifreeze gene in every one of its cells. The plant is tested to see if the fish gene still works. Is it frost resistant? Yes it is. _________________ JoAnn Guest mrsjo- DietaryTi- www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes AIM Barleygreen " Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future " http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html Discover Get on-the-go sports scores, stock quotes, news & more. Check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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