A biotechnology company reports five jobs done in a week…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A biotechnology company reports five jobs done in a week. For each job, say whether it is genetic engineering, bioprocess engineering, or a mixture of both, and give a reason in one line.
- A gene for a human protein was cut out of human DNA and put into a bacterium.
(ii) Air for a large tank was filtered, so that no other microbe could enter and grow beside the wanted yeast.
(iii) A plant was given a bacterial gene, so that it could resist a pest.
(iv) A culture of the recombinant bacterium of job (i) was grown in a tank of many thousand litres to make the protein for sale.
- An antibiotic-making mould was grown in a sterile tank without any change to its genes.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Genetic engineering changes the genetic material and puts it into a host. Bioprocess engineering keeps the culture free from germs and grows it in large amounts. A culture that doubles every minutes holds cells after minutes.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Given. Five jobs.
Plan. Ask two questions of each job. Were genes changed and moved? Was a clean culture grown in large amounts?
Step 1. Job (i) changes and moves a gene: genetic engineering.
Step 2. Job (ii) keeps the surroundings free from other microbes: bioprocess engineering.
Step 3. Job (iii) moves a gene into a plant: genetic engineering.
Step 4. Job (iv) takes the bacterium that genetic engineering made and grows it in a large tank: both. The first made the cells, and the second grows them in large amounts.
Step 5. Job (v) grows a natural mould in a sterile tank, with no change of genes: bioprocess engineering only.
Answer: (i) genetic engineering; (ii) bioprocess engineering; (iii) genetic engineering; (iv) both; (v) bioprocess engineering.
Watch out. A recombinant cell is not a product yet. Without the large clean culture, the work stays in the laboratory.
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