An overview of the basics of Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is the process by which recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology is used to change the genetic construction of an organism. Historically, human beings have altered genomes indirectly by controlling breeding and selecting offspring with desired traits. One or more genes are directly manipulated in genetic engineering. Usually, a gene from a different species is injected into an organism’s genome to give it a desired gene type. By manipulating the genes, humans achieve great things – production of human insulin is one the biggest contributions of genetic engineering. This technology also contributes to agriculture by providing genetically modified crops and insects or pest resistance to improve the yields of essential crops.

How it all started 

Genetic engineering was introduced in the 1970s to describe the promising sector  of recombinant DNA and its possible applications. This technology started with very  small ideas, cloning very tiny  pieces of DNA and culturing them in bacteria. Now this  technology has grown to a gigantic field where entire genomes can be selected, cloned and moved from cell to the target cell by using various techniques that all come under genetic engineering. This is marked as one of the biggest human achievements. 

What is genetic engineering?

Genetic engineering in uncomplicated terms means that for artificial manipulation or alteration of selected or marked genes to happen, we are marking and taking tiny fragments of DNA and combining them with other marked and selected fragments of DNA; this may alter the function of the whole genome.

In other words, genetic engineering is a series of techniques that use recombination of DNA to effectively modify the genetic background of animals or populations of organisms. The genetic information of cells, organs, and entire organisms is identified, replicated, modified, and transferred using these procedures.This doesn’t really happen passively – naturally, genetic engineering is a game changer in the field of biotechnology. 

Genetic engineering includes:

• Marking a specific gene 
• Marking and removing a target gene from the selected organism 
• Injecting specific genes into the selected host cell 

Tools of genetic engineering

Restriction enzymes: restriction enzymes are one of the most important tools in genetic engineering; they are also called restriction endonucleases. These are important proteins produced by micro bacteria that cut DNA at particular sites along with  the molecule. Eliminating infecting organisms is the main objective of the restriction enzyme in a bacterial cell.

Electroporation: insertion of  selected  genes in specially cultured cells or tissues (commonly used for bacteria, yeast and protoplasts) using the electric pulses will create pores in the membrane of the cell which will allow the flow of selected genes; this is called electroporation.

DNA ligase: DNA ligase is called the biological glue which plays a great role in DNA repair and DNA replication. In this process, DNA ligase is used to generate rDNA. As we discussed earlier, restriction enzymes will cut, forming uneven strands, and DNA ligase helps connect them together.

Genetic vectors: vectors are also called genetic vehicles. As the name suggests, the vectors help transport the marked and selected gene to the assigned gene’s location. The ability to replicate fast is one of the specialities of biological vectors. Artificial chromosomes, viruses and plasmids can be used as vectors.

• Other common tools include Gel electrophoresis, other enzymes, RNA, transgene, plasmid, PCR, etc.

Applications 

• Agriculture
• Medicine

• Health Science
• Crime Scene 
• Animal Husbandry 
• Molecular Biology
• Gene Therapy 
• Production of Hormones
• Production of Antibodies
• Model Animals
• Model Crops 

Agriculture: The field which gets most of the benefits of genetic engineering is agriculture. Genetic engineering in agriculture helps develop genetically modified crops, which will be genetically different from the parent crop. By genetic modification, a crop achieves a number of benefits – with less crops, more can be harvested, usage of pesticides that are harmful for humans can be avoided, there can be an increase in the nutrient value of crops, and diseases seen in plants can be eliminated. Bt cotton and Bt brinjal are some of the genetically modified crops. Genetic engineering helps farmers a lot.

Health sciences: Nowadays thinking of medical sciences without biotechnology is impossible, that’s how this technology is rooted into this field. As you know, most of the modern vaccines are a product of genetic engineering. Production of human insulin is one the biggest contributions of genetic engineering. Production and discovery of new drugs also require this technology. Development of new antibiotics also needs this technology. 

Genetically manipulated animals: This type of genetic variation of animals will help in research and developmental studies. The mice used in laboratories are genetically modified for biomedical studies in pharmacology.

Methods used:

• Transformation
• Conjunction

• Microinjection
• Transduction
• Liposome-mediated gene transfer

Ethical issues

Ethical issues are the only drawbacks genetic engineering is facing now. As genetic engineering is basically the alteration of basic units of life, it affects the human kind in different ways, ethically. Only the richest person gets such treatment and access is another drawback. Creating problems for human health is one of the ethical issues, while the alteration in crops will cause the death of old farming techniques. 

Conclusion 

Products of genetic engineering are common nowadays in our daily life. Genetic engineering plays a vital role in our day-to-day life, from our food to the medicinal drugs that we use. This is one of the greatest achievements of humankind . Molecular biology is the future of this world. This technology can create a defectless world. Molecular biology creates areas for more research and developmental studies. Hope we will see more improved genetic engineering in the coming days. Nations are competing with each other for the development of this technology.