Biotechnology Biotechnology is the manipulation of living things to make useful products Causes changes in an organism Examples of genetic biotechnology Selective Breeding Genetic Engineering Gene Therapy

Selective Breeding Selective Breeding is an intentional mating of organisms to produce offspring with specific traits Two types: Pure bred Hybrid

Selective Breeding: pure bred Pure breeding Crossing two individuals that have identical or similar sets of alleles. Example: breeding only fast horses, breeding only labs Con – decreases genetic variety therefore makes it harder to adapt, resist diseases, and higher chance of genetic disorders

Selective Breeding: hybrid Hybridization Crossing two genetically different individuals. The Hybrid organism is bred to have the best traits from both parents. Example: Labradoodles, corn produces lots of kernels with one resistant to disease Con – doesn’t always turn out the planned way & is time consuming Can not easily predict whether the dominant or recessive trait will appear

Thad Cochran National Warm-water Aquaculture Center Diseases in catfish farming are prevalent and costly, particularly the bacterial disease Enteric Septicemia of Catfish. The Aquatic Center uses selective breeding in a multi-trait process to increase the natural disease resistance of the fish through selective breeding. 5

Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering changes the genetic material of a living organism by removing genes from one organism then transferring them into the DNA of another organism. (gene splicing) Uses: Make medication and treat diseases cure human genetic disorders Improve crops Bacteria were the first success with genetic engineering because they are one celled and not as complex. Ex. Insert bacteria DNA into rice, wheat, and tomatoes to enable plants to survive in colder temps, poor soil conditions, and resist insect pests.

Genetic Engineering Scientists use genetic engineering to create bacterial cells that produce important human proteins such as insulin.

Gene Therapy Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease by inserting working copies of a gene directly into the cells of a person with a genetic disorder Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy, including: Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene. Inactivating, or “knocking out,” a mutated gene that is functioning improperly. Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease. Several studies have already shown that this approach can have very serious health risks, such as toxicity, inflammation, and cancer.

Gene Therapy Examples People with CF don’t produce the protein to control mucus production. Both genes are defected (recessive). Scientist insert working copies of gene into harmless viruses. The engineered viruses can be sprayed into the lungs of the patients. Gene therapy works in hemophilia by using DNA as the drug and viruses as the deliverer. A virus containing the gene that produces Factor VIII or Factor IV is injected into a large group of cells in the patient. The hope of the gene therapy is to have the cell produce more of the cured cells and spread throughout the rest of the body.. 9

Animal Functional Genomics Lab Located at Mississippi State University Deals with Bovine (Cow) Animal Biotechnology - Our laboratory’s research interests include efficient production of genetically enhanced livestock and animals for biomedical studies. They selectively breed bovine that exhibit good traits such as higher milk production, resistance to diseases, better tasting milk, etc. Example: Cattle type 1 doesn’t get sick from a certain infection. Cattle type 2 does. They will no longer breed Cattle type 2. They will select to only breed cattle type 1 to produce offspring. 10

Animal Functional Genomics Lab They also explore the secrets of animal genomes to determine genes involved in important phenotypes in reproduction and growth. map the genome of bovine to located certain genes that control desirable traits. hopes to genetically engineer, better offspring by changing the DNA not just selecting better parents. 11

Stoneville Pedigreed Seed Co. Located in Stoneville, MS Deals with plants Soybeans, corn and cotton have been genetically engineered to provide herbicide tolerance, insect resistance or both are widely grown in the United States and several other countries That technique does not involve altering crops by putting in foreign genes. Rather it uses genetic tests to help choose which plants to use in conventional cross-breeding, vastly speeding up the process. 12

Bullmastiff Big, strong & good companion (not aggressive or fast) Aggressive & fast (not big & strong) When selective breeding these 2 dogs, we get a Bullmastiff Large, quick, strong & aggressive dog

Example of Selective Breeding in Cattle Brahman cattle: good resistance to heat, but poor meat English shorthorn cattle: good beef, but poor heat resistance When selecting to breed these 2 animals we get a Santa Gertrudis cattle Result = good beef AND resistant to heat

Selective Breeding in Crops

How did the liger appear? If the father is a lion & the mother is a tiger, the offspring are known as ligers and the pairing results in gigantism Strong but lacks speed Fast but not as strong Ligers are fast & strong & twice as big as parent

Genetically Engineered Fish We have inserted genes into fish to make them grow twice as big and twice as fast

Genetically Engineered Chickens We have inserted genes into chickens to make them grow twice as big and twice as fast. They are so big they can’t walk.

Genetically engineered crops Humans have injected genes into crops to make them grow in colder environments Humans have injected genes into crops to make them grow in dry (drought) environments

Genetically Engineered Pigs Humans inject genes into pigs’ DNA in order for the pig to grow human-like organs, so people can transplant these organs into people who need them

Genetically Engineered Mice Humans inject genes into mice to make the mice grow human ears for cosmetic purposes