Past, Present and Future of this constantly changing field

Definition: The use of biology to make useful things and solve problems.Biotechnology mixes biological information

with computer technology to advance research in other areas.

Mainly used in medical, ecological and agricultural fields.

Organisms acquire their form and function & behavior through heredity from ancestors. Heredity establishes continuation of life forms.

“Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Offspring show traits of both parents and even some of the “grandparent” generation are visible.

Genes are what get actually passed on from the parents. Half from each parent.

All living forms use DNA and RNA as method of transmission for traits. Genes are located on chromosomes, which are tight coils of DNA.

The use of DNA/RNA is one of the most important unifying concepts in biology.

Aristotle proposed the theory of pangenesis which held that particles (called pangenesis) from all parts of the body come together to form the eggs and sperm. Changes that occurred in the various body parts during an

organism's life could be passed on to the next generation. Pangenesis was accepted by many (Lamarck and Darwin)

and was the prevailing theory into the nineteenth century. In the seventeenth century, Anton van Leeuwenhoek

"observed " the homunculus, a miniature human being, in human sperm cells. He and his followers (spermists) believed that: The mother serves only as an incubator for the

homunculus. All characteristics are inherited from the father.

Also during the seventeenth century, Regnier deGraaf and his followers (ovists) proposed that: The egg contains an entire human in miniature and that

semen only stimulates its growth. All characteristics are thus inherited from the mother.

deGraaf was the first person to describe the ovarian follicle in which human egg cells are produced.

1822-1884 , mathematician Augustinian Monk from what is now the Czech republicMendel worked with his plants until he

obtained true-breeding plants. Parental plants of such a cross are called the P

generation. The hybrid offspring of the P generation are the F1

generation (first filial). Mendel also allowed F1 generation plants to self-

pollinate to produce the next generation, the F2 generation.

Observed seven easily identifiable traits that he tracked and used to develop his theory of heredity.

Based upon their observations with ornamental plant breeding, scientists in the nineteenth century realized that both parents contribute to the characteristics of offspring. The "blending" theory then became the favored explanation of inheritance. According to this theory: Hereditary materials from male and female parents

mix to form the offspring, and once blended, the hereditary material is inseparable.

This theory was inconsistent with the observations that: Populations do not reach a uniform appearance. Some traits are absent in one generation and

present in the next. Modern genetics began in the 1860's with the

experiments of an Augustinian monk named Gregor Mendel who discovered the fundamental principles of inheritance.

Father of Modern Genetics

The Law of Segregation: There are alternative forms of a gene called

alleles For each inherited characteristic, an

organism has two alleles, one inherited from each parent.

A sperm or egg carries only one allele for each inherited characteristic, because allele pairs separate (segregate) from each other during the production of gametes.

When the two alleles of a pair are different, one is fully expressed and the other is completely masked. These are called the dominant allele and recessive allele, respectively

The Law of Independent Assortment: when forming gametes, paired factors that

specify alternative phenotypes segregate independently of one another.

This means that during the formation of offspring, you have a game of chance.

Structural and numerical deviations that affect many genes at once are aberrations also called mutations. (An actual mutation is a change in the gene that results in alteration of bases within the DNA sequence)

Once mutated, a gene will faithfully reproduce itself as is.

Helpful or Not Helpful Good- bring new possibilities for natural

selection to work Bad- may produce a lethal combination

Changes in number are also called euploidy- when there’s addition or deletion of whole sets of chromosomes

Aneuploidy is when a single chromosome is added or subtracted from a diploid set.

Polyploidy is most common Nondisjunction occurs during meiosis

when a pair of chromosomes fail to separate and result in a monosomic animal. Survival is rare because of the uneven balance of directions.

After teaching for 13 years at Bryn Mawr College, he moved on to Columbia University where he established the famous "fly room."

Morgan chose to work with the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. This fly requires little space, breeds quickly, has many observable characteristics, and has only four chromosomes, making it an ideal model organism for genetics studies

By examining thousands and thousands of flies with a microscope and a magnifying glass, Morgan and his colleagues confirmed the chromosomal theory of inheritance: that genes are located on chromosomes like beads on a string, and that some genes are linked

By examining thousands and thousands of flies with a microscope and a magnifying glass, Morgan and his colleagues confirmed the chromosomal theory of inheritance: that genes are located on chromosomes like beads on a string, and that some genes are linked

White eyed male

Morgan then went to California to establish the Biology program at Caltech- this is where we found Linus Pauling among other prominent American geneticists.

Est. Marine Lab

1953 to present

1953- James Watson & Francis Crick, along with Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin discover the structure of DNA. Watson and Crick publish their findings

1957- Francis Crick and George Gamov explained how DNA functions to make proteins

1966- Marshall Nirenburg and Severo Ochoa figured out the 20 codons that code for out amino acids Restriction enzymes- bacterial proteins that

are biological scissors. Look for specific sequences and cut there-

1969- Harvard Medical School team isolated the first gene

1971- Smith and Wilcox discovered the HindII restriction enzyme

Gel electrophoresis is the process that sorts DNA fragments by using electrical currents to leave us with a DNA fingerprint.

1972- Paul Berg cut sections of viral and bacterial DNA with the same restriction enzyme, spliced viral DNA to the bacterial DNA

1973- Cohen and Boyer produced first recombinant DNA organism- this was the beginning of GENETIC ENGINEERING

Genetic Engineering: Altering someone's DNA by cutting a piece out and inserting another piece.

http://www.cshl.edu/about/index.html -also in 1973 a team at Cold Spring

Harbor Lab refined DNA electrophoresis by using a stain and gel. Same as we use today

Vector- DNA that can replicate within a cell and can carry foreign DNA (usually bacteria or yeast) i.e. E. coli bacteria

1974- Scientists called for a worldwide moratorium on certain classes of experiments, the next year the recombinant DNA techniques were places on moratorium

1977- First practical application of genetic engineering- human growth hormone produced by bacterial cells

1978- Genetech, Inc. produced human insulin in E. coli

1979- Genetech, Inc. produced human GH & 2 kinds of interferon DNA from malignant cells transformed a strain of cultured mouse cells- new tool for analyzing cancer genes ALSO the Federal regulations are relaxed

1983- Genetech, Inc. :Kary Mullis, Biochemist conceives of the so called PCR that will enable scientists to rapidly reproduce tiny snipits of DNA

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) works like a xerox machine

We use this to produce many copies of a fragment of DNA

Very common now, uses test tubes not cells

Gene cloning occurs in cells, we could make billions of copies of DNA in just a few hours…What potential do you see for this?

Start with your template and add polymerase (enzyme)

Heat to break up the DNA strand (like a zipper)

Free floating nucleotides and primer must also be there

Primer- artificial piece of DNA that acts as a stop and start point (20 or so pieces long) that binds to the DNA and “marks” where the template polymerase will start and stop copying.

1984- Alec Jeffreys developed “genetic fingerprinting” which uses unique sequences of DNA to identify individuals

1985- Supreme Court rules that plants can be patented- why was this important?

1985- First use of fingerprinting in criminal investigation

1986- First field trials of DNA recombinant plants that are resistant to bugs and viruses/bacteria

Also, FDA approves the first genetically engineered vaccine for humans, for Hep B

James Watson helped launch the Human Genome Project (it was completed in 2003, 3 years ahead of schedule) This was mainly due to the technology explosion that occurred in the 90s. Our genome only has 30,000 to 40,000 protein

coding genes We also discovered that there was a lot more junk

than originally thought. 50% of our DNA is JUNK and 98% doesn’t code for

proteins There are very random patterns between the

genes Controversy: Originally was how much to map?

Who gets the information? Insurance, doctors, etc. Who will pay for the information?

1990- First successful gene therapy performed on two girls with severe immunodeficiency (bubble boy syndrome)Mary-Claire King finds evidence that a gene

on chromosome 17 causes the inherited form of breast cancer and increases the risk of ovarian cancer

1992- U.S. Army begins collecting blood and tissue samples from all new recruits as a part of a “genetic dog tag” program aimed at better identification of soldiers killed in action

1993- Flavr Savr tomatoes sold to public

George Washington University: Researchers clone human embryos and nurture them for several days. This provokes protests from ethicists, politicians and critics of genetic engineering.

1994- Bovine GH is introduced to dairy cattle 1995- O.J. Simpson found not guilty in high

profile murder case in which PCR and DNA fingerprinting play a prominent but unpersuasive role. It did bring the technology into the spotlight.

1997- Ian Wilmut leads a team that successfully clones a sheep, Dolly- who lived to reproduce.

1998- University of Hawaii scientists use variations of Wilmut’s technique to clone 3 generations of clonesDNA analysis of semen stains of Monica’s

dress match Bill’s blood sample, oops.DNA testing proves that Thomas Jefferson

fathered at least one child with his slaves (Sally Hemings) The book, Wolf by the Ears, tells the story from that childs perspective.

Two research teams succeed in growing embryonic stem cells.

2000- the rough draft of the human genome is complete, while the complete genome for a pig is finished

Also- “Golden Rice," modified to make vitamin A, promises to help third-world countries alleviate blindness

2002- Biotech crops grown on 145 million acres in 16 countries. 27% of the global acreage was grown in nine developing countries.

Also, Researchers announce successful results for a vaccine against cervical cancer

2003- Dolly is put down after developing a progressive lung disease

2004- California voters pass Prop 71, which supported embryonic stem cell research with $3 billion in funding over 10 years.

2005- The British research firm PG Economics Ltd. finds that the global use of biotech crops has added $27 billion to farm income, and greatly reduced agriculture's negative impacts on the environment.

2006- The National Institutes of Health begins a 10-year, 10,000-patient study using a genetic test that predicts breast-cancer recurrence and patients whose cancer is deemed unlikely to recur will be spared chemotherapy. The genetic test, Oncotype DXTM was developed by the biotech company Genomic Health and is already commercially available.

What does all this mean to YOU?