Biotechnology

A Little History
• 1953: DNA is first described by Watson and Crick.
• 1973: Cohen and Boyer develop genetic engineering techniques to "cut and
paste" DNA and reproduce the new DNA in bacteria.
• 1978: Genentech scientists and their collaborators produce
recombinant human insulin.
• 1983: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique conceived (will
become a major means of copying genes and gene fragments).
• 1990: Human Genome Project (HGP), an international effort to map all the
genes in the human body, is launched.
• 2000: First draft of human genome sequence completed by the HGP and
Celera Genomics.
• 2007: Two additional human genomes were completed for a total of three
 Cumulative Pace of Disease Gene Discovery 1981-2005

2000
1800
1600
Number 1400
of Genes
Associated 1200
with
Disease 1000
800
600
400
200
0
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Year
Source: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man
Step 1

• Isolate what you want to study (DNA or

protein).
 Isolating Cellular
Components
• Cell Fractionation
– Cells are broken
down and separated
by density
– Further separation
can be achieved
through various
chemical methods

15.1
Step 2

• Concentrate enough of what you want to

study.
OR
• Make more of it
 PCR

• Polymerase Chain
Reaction

15.2
How many strands of DNA
would 25 cycles yield?
 DNA Sequencing and the Human
Genome

• The human genome was first sequenced

in 2000.
• Humans have 20-25,000 genes (a
surprisingly low number -- corn plants have 50,000
for example).

• Individual humans differ by about 250-

300 genes at most.
15.7
Step 3

• Analyze what you are studying.

– Size and sequence are two common ways to
analyze DNA
• DNA has a negative
charge Gel Electrophoresis
• It moves toward the
positive anode
• Smaller particles move
faster

15.3
Step 4

• Use the molecule you are studying in a

new system to see how it works or to
make a product.
 Restriction Enzymes
• Cut DNA at a
specific location

15.4
RFLP Analysis

• Restriction Fragment
Length Polymorphism

• Because DNA differs

in sequence, restriction
enzymes will produce
fragments of different
lengths.
DNA Fingerprinting
Using Restriction
Enzymes

15.10
OJ Simpson Trial
• Odds of seeing 3 albino deer at the 
same time:

85 million to 1
• Odds of the blood on the glove not 
being from R. Goldman, N. Brown­
Simpson, and O.J. Simpson:

21.5 billion to 1
 Recombinant
DNA and
Cloning Genes

15.4
Recombinant
DNA and
Cloning
Genes

15.5
Practical Uses of DNA Technology
• Diagnosis of disease
• Human gene therapy
• Pharmaceutical products
(vaccines)
• Forensics
• Animal husbandry
(transgenic organisms)
• Genetic engineering in
plants
• Ethical concerns?
15.9