Introduction to Biotechnology Mr Tsigaridis Why use it
Introduction to Biotechnology Mr. Tsigaridis
Why use it? n What are some of the advantages to biotechnologies in genetics? n n n The offer us advances in pharmacogenomics They allow individuals to identify problems early on They allow for identification of changes at the genetic level
Why use it? n What are some of the disadvantages to biotechnologies in genetics? n n They create ethical issues (euthanasia, abortions) WE DON’T KNOW
What is out there? n The biotechnologies that we are going to look at in this presentation are as follows: n n n n Amniocentesis Fetoscopy Ultra Sound Chorionic Villus Sampling PCR SDS-PAGE Adenovidus Vectoring (gene therapy) DNA Micro Array
Amniocentesis n What is amniocentesis n n n It is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnostics A small amount of amniotic fluid is sampled The fluid contains fetal tissue It is extracted through the amnion (sac) DNA is then examined for abnormalities
Amniocentesis
Amniocentesis Application
Amniocentesis Application n What can it be used for? n It can be used to identify the sex of a fetus n It can be used to identify genetic disorders, either from karyotyping or from genetic analysis (mapping of genome) n Is this good or bad (talk about it with a partner, and then bring your ideas back to me)
Some of the dangers Infection can occur from the puncture n Incomplete healing can cause leakage and infection of the amniotic sac n
Fetoscopy n What is a fetoscopy n This is an endoscopic procedure that allows the medical professional access to the fetus, amniotic cavity, the umbilical cord, and the fetal side of the placenta
Fetoscopy n What is it used for? n n n It allows for medical interventions such as: Biopsy Laser occlusion of damaged blood vessels
Fetoscopy
An important use It can also be used to perform blood transfusions of fetuses n It can save the fetuses life n It can also be a first step in identifying genetic disorders that a fetus may have n
Dangers of fetoscopies The incisions may become infected n Leakage of the amniotic fluid into the body cavity may occur n
Chorionic Villus Sampling n Is a form of prenatal diagnostic testing n It is used to identify prenatal chromosomal and genetic disorders
How it is done? n A sample of the chorionic villus is taken and tested n What is the chorionic villus? n Placental Tissue
When it is done? Its advantage comes with its timing n It can happen from weeks 10 -13 after the last period n This is a better technique than amniocentesis because that can only happen from weeks 15 -18 n
CSV – Chorionic Villus Sampling
Reasons for having it done Mother's age of 35 years or greater n Abnormal first trimester screen results n Increased nuchal translucency or other abnormal ultrasound findings n Family history of a chromosomal abnormalities or other genetic disorders n Parents are known carriers for a genetic disorder n
Ultra. Sound n Is cyclic sound pressure with a frequency that is greater than that of human hearing
Ultra. Sound The production of ultrasound is used in many different fields n It is used to penetrate a medium and measure the reflection signature n This reveals information about the inner structure of the medium n
The old ultrasound
The new ultrasound
Other uses Studying the earth n Cleaning teeth n Breaking kidney/gull stones n
PCR – Polymerase Chain Reaction It is widely used in molecular biology n Created by Kary Mullis n This allows for amplification of small amounts of DNA n
The secret n Thermus Aquatiucs n AKA - TAQ
Why Taq? The reason they wanted to use this bacteria was because it lives at such high temperatures n The Polymerase (the enzyme that lays down nucleotides) works at high temperature n n Higher than that of DNAs denaturing point
The process n What goes in the tube? n n n DNA of interest Primers Taq Polymerase Nucleotides (lots of them) Water Magnesium
Then what happens They put the eppendorf tubes into the PCR cycler n The process is repeated many times n
Why it works?
Some Math 20 = 1 n 21 = 2 n 22 = 4 n 23 = 8 n 223 = 8, 388, 608 n 236 = 68, 719, 476, 736 n
What are the uses Studying genes n Forensics n Today – basically all gene related research n
SDS-PAGE n Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, is a technique used in biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology to separate proteins according to their electrophoretic mobility n They are separated as a function of their size
What is it used for? Genetic testing n Paternity testing n Forensics n
The Apparatus
The Point
DNA Micro Array A DNA microarray is an arrayed series of microscopic spots of DNA Oligonucleotides n Each spot contains picomoles of a specific unique sequence, such a stretch of a gene sequence n What is a picomole? n
The breakdown n n pico p 10 -12 nano n 10 -9 micro µ 10 -6 milli m 10 -3 centi c 10 -2 deci d 10 -1 kilo k 103 mega M 106 giga G 109 tera T 1012
What is it used for It is used to do many thousands of experiments at once n It can be used to identify if a certain gene is present n Or it can be used to identify if a gene is expressed, over expressed or underexpressed n
What it looks like
Gene Therapy – Adenovirus Vector Viral vectors are a tool commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic material into cells n A common virus is adenovirus, HSV n
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