Lecture Enrichment Ideas
1. Discuss some of the uses of biotechnology, as in the production of a giant mouse through use of human or rat growth hormone, the production of pigs with leaner meat from use of bovine or human growth hormone, or some of the recent clinical trials on gene transfer in malignant melanoma treatment.
2. Explain in particular why it is necessary to remove the introns from genes added to bacteria. Explain why it would work to use yeast to transcribe genes containing introns that could not be transcribed and translated into usable proteins in bacteria.
3. Discuss the problems that have arisen in the production of insulin in bacteria: (a) since some bacteria such as E. coli lack a process for secreting the protein, the bacteria must be lysed to release it, and (b) because insulin is modified posttranslationally (which the bacteria cannot do), the system is not efficient.
4. Discuss how the polymerase chain reaction works,
noting the action of the DNA polymerase and the use of heat to
denature the DNA and release the newly synthesized strands. You
might mention the source of the heat-resistant DNA polymerase
from Thermus aquaticus, which grows in hot springs.