Chapter revision: applications and their traps

The chapter in one list

You have seen the three parts of the chapter: agriculture, medicine and ethics. The list pairs each application with its source or tool and one fact. Most questions on this chapter are only about these pairs.

• Bt cotton: the source is Bacillus thuringiensis. The genes cryIAc and cryIIAb act on the cotton bollworms.
• Corn borer: the gene cryIAb, also from Bacillus thuringiensis.
• Recombinant insulin: host E. coli. Chains A and B were made separately, in 1983.
• Hepatitis B vaccine: made in yeast. It holds a protein of the virus.
• Gene therapy for ADA: lymphocytes and a retroviral vector. The first case was in 1990.
• Alpha-1-antitrypsin: made by transgenic animals. It treats emphysema.
• Rosie: a transgenic cow, in 1997. Her milk had human alpha-lactalbumin.
• RNA interference: Agrobacterium and tobacco, against Meloidogyne incognita.
• GEAC: the committee of the Government of India that approves GM research and release.
• Biopiracy: use by a company without authorisation or payment. The cases are basmati, neem and turmeric.

The traps

These are the mistakes that students make most often.

1. Active and inactive. The Bt crystal holds the inactive protoxin. The alkaline gut of the insect makes it active.
2. The C peptide. It is in the pro-hormone and not in mature insulin. The chains are joined by disulphide bridges.
3. Two chains. In 1983 the chains were made separately and joined afterwards.
4. Gene or enzyme. In ADA deficiency the gene is deleted. The enzyme is adenosine deaminase.
5. Not immortal. The cells of gene therapy are not immortal, so the infusions are repeated.
6. Sensitive. Animals for toxicity tests are more sensitive, so the test takes less time.
7. Mice. Over 95 per cent of transgenic animals are mice.
8. Rich in what. Industrialised nations are rich financially. Developing nations are rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
9. Vector or source. Agrobacterium is a vector for plants, a retrovirus is the vector in the ADA therapy, and Bacillus thuringiensis is the source of the Bt genes.

Try it in Python

The program prints the list of the chapter, a row for each product.

Practise with new numbers

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the vectors. Agrobacterium for plants, a retrovirus for the ADA therapy.
• Mixing up the genes. cryIAb for the corn borer, and cryIAc and cryIIAb for the cotton bollworms.
• Mixing up the products of the transgenic animals. Alpha-1-antitrypsin for emphysema, alpha-lactalbumin in the milk of Rosie.
• Mixing up the years. Insulin 1983, ADA 1990, Rosie and the basmati patent 1997.

Remember these

• Insulin, 1983, E. coli, chains A and B. ADA, 1990. Rosie, 1997. The basmati patent, 1997.
• Bt cotton: protoxin in the crystal, an alkaline gut, pores in the midgut cells.
• The hepatitis B vaccine comes from yeast.
• GEAC approves GM research and release. Biopiracy is use without authorisation and without payment.

Check yourself

Try each one on your own first. If you are stuck, open a hint. Then check with Show the answer.

1. Which organism is the source of the genes of Bt cotton?

2. In which organism was human insulin made in 1983, and what were the two parts made separately?

3. Which vaccine is made from yeast?

4. Which vector was used for the gene therapy of ADA deficiency?

5. Which animal is the most common transgenic animal, and what does a toxicity test with such animals gain?

6. What was the year of the patent on basmati rice, and which organisation granted it?

References

• OpenStax Biology 2e, chapter 17, Biotechnology and Genomics.
• NCERT (2023). Biology, Textbook for Class XII, chapter 10, Biotechnology and Its Applications.