Genetic engineering can be used to manufacture many pharmaceutical and agricultural products.
The diagram below shows how human insulin is produced using genetically engineered bacteria:
Which part of the human cell is inserted into the bacterial plasmid?
Which substance is produced by the genetically-engineered bacteria to be used as a medicine?
Historically, insulin was extracted from the pancreases of slaughtered pigs.
Why is genetically engineered human insulin more advantageous or safer for patients than animal-derived insulin?
Select one option:
- Animal-derived insulin can cause allergic reactions because it is not identical to human insulin.
- Genetically engineered insulin contains active viruses from the yeast.
- Genetically engineered insulin cannot be digested by humans.
Genetic engineering can also be used in crop production. Weeds are a major problem for farmers because they compete with crop plants like canola.
Give three abiotic or space-related factors that weeds and crop plants compete for.
Some canola crops are genetically modified (GM) to be resistant to a weed killer called glufosinate.
Suggest one advantage of spraying glufosinate on fields where GM canola is growing.
Suggest one biological or environmental concern of using GM herbicide-resistant crops. Do not refer to economic cost.