Discussion questions 1 Find one example of a genetically modified bacterium used
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Question
Discussion questions 1 Find one example of a genetically modified bacterium used to benefit humans. Provide the genus and species, and briefly discuss the primary uses. You may use one of the examples above or find your own example, but the organism must be genetically engineered or altered 2 Is it ethical to use genetically modified bacteria? Why or why not? 3. When a new organism is created in a lab, the scientist responsible for the discovery can patent the new organism. What ethical concerns surround the idea of owning the patent on a living organism? Start a New ThreadExplanation / Answer
1. Genetically modified microorganisms are used for human benefits in the field of medicine, pharmacology, industry and agriculture etc. For example, E. coli is the bacterium that is genetically engineered to produce human insulin. The recombinant insulin for human use is produced in large scale by using genetically engineered E. coli. For engineering this bacterium, the insulin producing gene is isolated and introduced into E. coli using a suitable plasmid vector. This cloning experiment involves the following steps:
1. isolation of insulin producing gene and is obtained using suitable restriction endonuclease
2. The isolated gene is introduced into plasmid vector
3. The plasmid containing insulin producing gene is introduced into bacteria host (E. coli)
4. The transformed bacterial host is screened for producing insulin encoding protein.
With these steps the insulin production is carried out in large scale for human use. The recombinant insulin is highly useful in tratment of human diabetes.
Various other bacteria are genetically engineered for producing pharmacologically useful products in medicine. Similarly, genetically modified bacteria are useful in agriculture. The Agrobacterium tumifaciens is engineered introducing genes encoding vitamin A in rice, pest resistant and insect resistant crops using several genetically engineered bacteria.