Heterogeneous Protein Research Paper

Certain proteins that are naturally present in cow’s milk many infants are allergic to. A number of organisations are aiming to create animals that produce milk which doesn’t contain the beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) protein and are looking in to ways to manipulate the genetic material in Dairy cattle. One of these animals is a cloned calf that has been genetically modified by Scientists from AgResearch and the University of Waikato in New Zealand. This cow is called Daisy.

Explain what DNA is – gene chromosome base sequence codes for a specific protein, expression of gene

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is hereditary material inside the nucleus of cells that carries genetic information. A strand of DNA is called a chromosome and sections of chromosomes

All cells function through the proteins. Protein synthesis involves two steps: transcription and translation. During the transcription phase the information encoded in DNA is taken and encodes it to messenger RNA (mRNA) which is smaller than DNA so it can come out of the cells nucleus into the cytoplasm. In transcription the DNA is transcribed to mRNA which is one strand of the double stranded DNA. In the translation phase the mRNA works with a ribosome and transfer RNA (tRNA) to synthesise proteins and occurs in the cytoplasm. The tRNA translates the nucleotide sequence of mRNA to the specific amino acid sequence. These amino acid sequences join together to form a

The greater genetic diversity within a species means that there is a greater chance of long-term survival because there is more variety of genes within a species. This means that by modifying the cow’s gene to reduce and almost stop production of BLG protein genetic biodiversity of cows has increased. Genetic Biodiversity plays an important role in survival and adaptability of a species. If the environment of a species changes the population may have to adapt to survive and the ability of the population to adapt to the changes in environment will determine their ability to cope with the environmental challenges and eventually determine what individuals in the species will survive. The species with the more favourable traits will survive to pass on these traits to offspring. This means that if a disease enters the population of cows that specifically targets the gene making BLG protein the genetically modified cows who lack this part of the gene will survive because the disease is unable to target it because it has been knocked down through RNAi. If Daisy the genetically modified cow who produces milk that contains a very small amount of BLG is able to reproduce we are able to breed a cow that also doesn’t produce much BLG protein. This enables us to have Daisy and another cow that is different from the rest and now there is not