The process of genetic engineering - Higher
Genetic engineering a bacterium to produce insulin
The main steps of Process which involves the artificial transfer of genetic information from one donor cell or organism to another.:
- Enzymes are used to isolate the required human The basic unit of genetic material inherited from our parents. A gene is a section of DNA which controls part of a cell's chemistry - particularly protein production. which is then replicated. This gene is inserted into a The way in which genetic material is transferred from a donor to a recipient e.g. plasmids and artificial chromosomes. , which is a bacterial The small circular genetic material present in bacterial cells and used in DNA recombinant technology.. The modified plasmids also include a gene for antibiotic resistance.
- The plasmid inserts the genes into the target bacterial cells. An antibiotic is added which kills any bacteria which have not taken up the plasmid.
- The bacteria that survive will be able to also make insulin. They are grown in a A tank containing nutrients, which is used to grow large numbers of bacteria or yeast. and the insulin is harvested.
This diagram shows how the genetic engineering of the insulin works: