Modifying organisms genetically has been used on plants, bacteria, animals and fish. Bacteria were the first organisms exploited in producing large amount of pure human proteins for use in medicine such as the protein insulin to treat diabetes, clotting factors to treat hemophilia, and human growth hormone to treat various forms of dwarfism. Researchers also engineered plants genetically.
They studied the function of numerous genes and succeeded in: – creating flowers with new colors – producing fuel known as biofuel – improving the quality of crops in agriculture, by giving plants desirable qualities, such as resistance to pests, herbicides, improved product shelf life, and increased nutritional value. – producing plant-made pharmaceuticals (pharming) The introduction of transgenes in animals, specially mice, rats, rabbits, provided models for various human diseases and were used to study their pathological mechanisms.
Although the process of genetically engineering animals is slow and expensive, it is widely applied in: – Producing industrial products (fibres for multiple uses for example) – Producing pharmaceutical products and tissues for implantation. – Improving the animals’ interactions with humans (hypo-allergenic pets) – Enhancing production and food quality (faster growing pigs, that digest food more efficiently for example) – Strengthening animal’s health (conferring resistance to diseases) Genetically modified fish are used in genetics and development research considered for use as food and as aquatic pollution sensors. The Glofish is one example of genetically modified fluorescent zebra fish with bright red, green, and orange fluorescent color. Biology Assignment: I need help writing a research paper.
