Infographic 16.4. -Refer to Infographic 16.4. Use the Infographic to Explain Step

Question

Infographic 16.4.  -Refer to Infographic 16.4. Use the Infographic to Explain Step

Examlex · Accepted Answer

The Answer is To make a genetically modified organism, you first have to identify a trait that you wish your organism would express. In this case, farmers wanted their crops to express a bacterial gene that kills insects in the hopes that they could use less pesticides on their crops. Once the desired trait is identified, the gene encoding that trait is isolated from the original organism, in this case a bacterium, and many copies of the gene are made in the lab. The gene is then put into a piece of circular DNA called a plasmid that is readily taken up by bacterial cells. In this case, the bacterial cells that take up the Bt gene are also able to enter plant cells. The plasmid carrying bacterium then infects the plant cell and delivers the desired gene to the nucleus of the plant cell, where it is incorporated into the plant DNA. The plant then grows and expresses the desired gene-in this case the insect toxin Bt. Seeds from the transgenic plant are harvested and sold to farmers who now require less chemical pesticide to be applied.

Infographic 16.4. -Refer to Infographic 16.4. Use the Infographic to Explain Step

Definitions: