Unit 6 Reflection

This unit was about the technologies in biology and their different applications in everyday life. Biotechnology is the study of the manipulation of living things and how they are changed in order to benefit mankind. The four applications of biotechnology are: industrial and environmental; agricultural; medical; and diagnostic research. Despite the many benefits that these four applications have given to mankind, there are many questions that are posed about the bioethics of gene manipulation and weather they fit our values and morals as a species. This part of biotechnology is important since scientists are constantly creating organisms and making different discoveries, but weather the applications of these discoveries the moral thing is something that must always be asked in science that changes the natural order of things. We also learned about recombinant genes, and how they are used to mass produce and create bacteria with a desired protein to be extracted. This involves extracting a gene using a restriction enzymes, inserting it into a plasmid, and mass producing the plasmid in order to create and extract the protein that is created from the gene. The three main technologies used in biotech are Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR), Gel Electrophoresis, and DNA Sequencing. The process of PCR is to denature strands of DNA with heat, add a primer to specific DNA sequences, and to use DNA polymerase to read the DNA and mass produce it, creating multiple copies for analysis. Gel electrophoresis is when DNA is placed into a gel and ran through with a an electrical current, which separates the DNA by size and allows for them to be more easily analyzed. DNA sequencing is used to determine the exact sequence of a gene and uses DNA polymerase and dyes to allow a computer to read it and analyze it. This was a fast paced unit and I had a hard time understanding some of the concepts until we did the labs, which gave us hands on experience and allowed us to truly see how the technologies are used and their  applications in real life.

We did three labs in this unit which all helped me understand the concepts behind the different technologies. In the Recombinant DNA lab, we used paper models to help us understand the role of restriction enzymes and how they cut plasmids and DNA to allow them to combine together. In the Candy Electrophoresis Lab, we ran different dyes in candy through a gel electrophoresis and analyzed them next to sample dyes, which helped us understand how gel electrophoresis is used and how it separates DNA by size.  In the pGLO Lab, we did the replication and combing part of Recombinant DNA, by combining DNA and plasmids through a process of cooling and heating and then mass producing the plasmids inside of bacteria to see how they are actually created and combined.

Links to Labs:

• Recombinant DNA Lab Analysis
• Candy Electrophoresis Lab Analysis
• pGLO Lab Analysis

I want to learn more about the industrial applications of biotechnology, since we learned about the diagnostic and medical applications through the pGLO lab and how that technology can be used to mass produce insulin and other medicines and how gel electrophoresis can be used to study DNA, but not about how biotechnology can be used in the industrial setting.

My goals from the New Years were to gain a 4.0 GPA in the second semester and to final in at least one speech and debate tournament by the end of the second year. I have yet to complete the first goal, but am making good progress towards the goal. The second goal is also incomplete but I have come very close in many tournaments, I need to continue practicing and become more knowledgeable on the analysis of current events in order to complete this goal and achieve future success.

Recombinant DNA Lab 

Gel Electrophoresis Lab 

pGLO Lab

pGLO Lab Analysis

pGLO Observations , Data Recording & Analysis

1.

Obtain your team plates.  Observe your set of  “+pGLO” plates under room light and with UV light.  Record numbers of colonies and color of colonies. Fill in the table below. Plate Number of Colonies Color of colonies under room light Color of colonies under   UV light - pGLO LB Lawn White None - pGLO LB/amp 0 + pGLO LB/amp 6 White Purple White + pGLO LB/amp/ara 2 and Satellite Colonies White Green White

2.	What two new traits do your transformed bacteria have?
	The two traits that the transformed bacteria have are resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin, and the inclusion of the GFP gene in the bacteria.
3.	Estimate how many bacteria were in the 100 uL of bacteria that you spread on each plate. Explain your logic.
	We estimate that there were around 5000 - 10000 bacteria since their were about 15 bacteria colonies in every unit, and those have a multitude of bacteria, and because many bacteria died due to the ampicillin, there are approximately that many bacteria at the beginning of the lab.
4.	What is the role of arabinose in the plates?
	The arabinose is a promoter for the GFP gene, and it is needed in order for the RNA polymercase to be allowed to read the GFP gene and express it.
5.	List and briefly explain three current uses for GFP (green fluorescent protein) in research or applied science.
	It is used in many animals alongside another resistance gene to test whether it has actually entered the organism and is active inside of it. It can be used to track organisms since they glow under UV lights and can properly be used to check where they are in a contained environment. It is used in monkeys to track the entrance of diseases into the monkeys brains can better help these diseases be studied.
6.	Give an example of another application of genetic engineering.

Another example of genetic engineering is the introduction of pest resistant genes into plants in order for them to better grow in impoverished areas and to yield better crop results.

Candy Electrophoresis Lab Analysis

All the dyes that were found matched up with  reference dyes in color, size, and area in the gel except for the green dye, which split in 2 and had a blue band and a yellow band. This is probably because the color green is created from a combination of those colors. and the mixture was split during the electrophoresis. 

The citrus red 2 dye is most similar to the dyes in the lab, specifically red 40, because it has the relatively same structure and size un like the other dyes, which are oddly shaped. Due to the similarities between these dyes, they would probably move at the same rate and to the same area in the gel.

Dog food companies probably put different color dyes in their foods because it might make the food seem more appetizing and the color may attract dogs towards it. Also, the color may give it the artificial look of meat and can make it look better compared to an all natural look.

The reason people might prefer artificial dyes over natural dyes is because artificial dyes can come in a larger variety and are cheeper to create and process, while natural dyes must be obtained from a natural source and may not have the desired quality or color.

The forces that control the distance tin which the dyes migrate are the size of the pieces of DNA along with the structure of the dye. These two control the distance because if the piece is smaller, then it travels farther and the structure may cause it to be larger or smaller.

The force of the electricity running through the gel moves the dye, which moves them from a negatively charged side to a positively charged size.

The movement caused by the charge distribution allows the DNA to move in little holes in the gel, thus splitting them by size since the smaller particles take less time to move than the larger ones. 

The DNA molecules with those weights will separate through the holes, but some will just take longer to migrate. In order of farthest to closest from the starting point it would be: 600, 1000, 2000, with 5000 lagging far behind.

Recombinant DNA Lab Analysis

In thus lab, we simulated the process of producing recombinant DNA and how enzymes are used to cut plasmids and genes. In this lab, we tested a multitude of enzymes to see weather they would cut twice in an insuling gene, and once in a the plasmid bacteria. The bacteria was resistant to the antibiotic kanamycin, so I would put the bacteria in kanamycin since the bacteria that had insulin also were resistant to kanamycin, so they could survive and you can mass produce them. I would not use the antibiotics tetracycline and amplicillin since they would kill all the bacteria and the ones with insulin would not survive. Restriction enzymes are enzymes that are able to cut out parts out of DNA. The one we used was Eco R1 since it cut the the human gene in two places close to the insulin gene and cut the plasmid in only one l place. If the restriction enzyme cut the bacteria in more than one place, then the lygase would not know where to attach the insulin gene to. This technology can be important in everyday lives since it can create products that people are unable to produce and provide them with a mass production of cures to diseases they may have. A real life example of recombinant DNA is that scientists have been able to produce plants that are resistant to freezing temperatures and to pesticides.

New Years Goals

For this year I will get an overall 4.0 GPA in all my classes, and will final in at least 1 speech and debate tournament before the end of the second semester. In order to gain a a 4.0 GPA, I will: study for my tests at least 1 week in advance, turn in all my homework assignments, and finish all lab reports in class (if possible). In order to final in at least 1 speech and debate tournament, which is one of my personal goals, I will: give 4 speeches a day, file articles every week, and read articles daily.