Question

1.1 Maria is a genetic counselor and has a son who looks very much like her. Total strangers often say “He is your little clone—he looks just like you!” She’s tempted to retort, “No he’s not! You obviously don’t know anything about genetics!” but instead just says “Thank you.”

a. Based on what you know about genetics explain why Maria’s son could not be her clone.

b. Would it be legal to for Maria to make a clone of herself? Should it be? Explain your answer in 1-2 sentences.

1.2 When I was an undergraduate, a friend of mine who knew I was working on genetics offered to pay me a tidy sum to clone his dog Mitzi, who he loved dearly, so that he would never have to be without her. Although I could have used the money, I declined.

a. If I had cloned Mitzi, would Mitzi’s clone have been identical to Mitzi in appearance and behavior?

b. If she would not have been identical, explain why not in terms of genetics and gene expression.

1.3 (2 pts) List an example of a clone that is found in nature (rather than made in agricultural practice or the lab) in each of the following categories and escribe the characteristic(s) that qualify it to be considered a clone, in 1-2 sentences.

a. Single-celled organism

b. Plant

c. Animal

1.4 Plants have been genetically modified for many different reasons, which can be loosely grouped into two categories:

To increase yield. Examples include pesticide resistance, longer shelf-life modification and drought resistance.

To directly improve human health. Examples include: increasing the nutritional value of crops, removing allergenic substances, and using crops to produce vaccines.

Find one example of a crop in each category, then answer the following questions for each. Do not use examples we will discuss in class, which are BT, Round-up ready crops and Golden Rice, or other crops modified to make beta carotene.

a.GMO plants to increase yield (3 pts)

i.Name the GMO (e.g corn) and the gene or genes that were added or changed.

ii.What benefit(s) does the gene/s confer to the crop?

iii.Is this product in commercial use today?

iv.What are the regulations on the use of this product? Does it need to be labeled? Do farmers have to have a special permit to grow it?

v.What is one concern regarding the use of this crop?

b.GMO plants to benefit human health (3 pts)

i.Name the GMO (e.g corn) and the gene or genes that were added or changed.

ii.What benefit(s) does the gene/s confer to humans?

iii.Is this product in commercial use today?

iv.What are the regulations on the use of this product? Does it need to be labeled? Do farmers have to have a special permit to grow it?

v.         What is one concern regarding the use of this crop?

Answer 1

1.1.a)Maria's son can not be her clone.He is the result of gametic fusion.Clone are the carbon copy of single parent and cloning is done by taking the somatic cells of an organism so parent and clone share exactly same genetic makeup.If cloning was done by taking maria's somatic cells,it would result in her daughter which would be carbon copy of maria.

1.1.b)No,animal cloning(including human cloning)is banned in banned all over the world.There are many issues which made it unethical.Animal cloning is not an easy task,its a series of experiments which make the animal suffers alot.

1.2.a)yes,because Mitzi's clones would be made by taking somatic cells of mitzi so they will share same genetic makeup.

1.2.b).If she would not have been identical,the reason can be Mutations in her DNA during cell division in embryonic stage or later.

1.3.

Many species can reproduce asexually and hence possess natural methods of cloning

• All bacteria, the majority of fungi and many species of protists reproduce asexually to produce genetic clones
• While most plants reproduce sexually, they also possess methods of asexual reproduction (vegetative propagation).This production of clones can be by roots,shoots or leaves.Examples include potato,onion,strawberry etc.
• Certain animal species can also reproduce asexually, via a variety of different mechanisms.Examples include planaria(regeneration),hydra(budding).
• In humans,identical twins are also considered as clones of each other.

1.4.a).i)Genetically modified Soybean.(herbicide resistant)(primarily used as livestock feed)

Roundup Ready Soybeans are a series of genetically engineered varieties of glyphosate-resistant soybeans.

Glyphosate kills plants by interfering with the synthesis of the essential amino acids. Roundup Ready Soybeans express a version of EPSPS (an enzyme  called 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase)from the CP4 strain of the bacteria,Agarobactium tumifacience.

ii)it gives herbicide resistant to plants.

iii)yes,First approved commercially in the United States during 1994, GTS 40-3-2 was subsequently introduced to Canada in 1995, Japan and Argentina in 1996, Uruguay in 1997, Mexico and Brazil in 1998, and South Africa in 2001..In 2014, 90.7 million hectares of GM soy were planted worldwide, 82% of the total soy cultivation area.

iv)yes,Soy beans are allowed a Maximum Residue Limit of glyphosate of 20 mg/Kg for international trade.

Seeds of GMOs are labelled.

iv)There is a controversy about using GMOs soy in human food.Many beliefs are there regarding the side effects of this soy on liver,thyroid and allergic reactions.

1.4.b).i).Genetically modified wheat

Wheat has been altered using biotechnology for a number of health benefits. For example, levels of celiac-disease causing gliadins have been lowered from wheat using RNAi-based technologies, and the level of free lysine, an essential amino acid that is generally scarce in wheat, has been increased. Genetically altered wheat has been tested for dough making quality and taste with encouraging results. Biofortified wheat provides more options for the proportion of the population who are gluten sensitive or intolerant, and can also provide higher levels of micronutrients, such as iron and zinc, to those in developing countries who use wheat as a staple.