With the significant increase in global human population in recent decades, the pressure for groups of people to produce enough food and energy for everyone to consume while ensuring that these resources remain sustainable and replaceable has likewise dramatically increased. While the first several challenges produced by the rise on population were met with advances in technology, notably the Green Revolution, the continued growth of the population has placed further strains on the fields of agricultural, food, energy/environment, and biotechnology. Prokaryotic organisms, which are single- or small numbered-cell organisms that lack nuclei in their cells are essential to these fields because they provide a mechanism for current resources to be made more productive and available. Thus, prokaryotes, especially for roles in agriculture and energy, are extremely critical to understand within these processes.
Since the late twentieth century, agricultural technologies have advanced significantly, moving from a trial-and-error system of experimentation with the techniques of basic forms of genetic modification including cross-pollination to more targeted approaches tailored to each species. For plants and livestock, the ability to introduce specific genes containing a desired trait has been a method of agricultural manipulation that is quickly gaining traction within the field. A preliminary example of the effectiveness of prokaryotic genes in creating genetically modified organisms includes combating insect infestations. Insect-resistant crop strains have been created from a gene from the bacteria species Bacillus thuringiensis, which stimulates the production of a toxin that targets insects and inhibits their development, leaving the ...
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... could be built. This system could then be used to gather the spill for processing and prevent it from being wasted, but that is likely a technology for the future (“Environmental Biotechnology”).
Prokaryotic organisms are essential to our lives now, directly or indirectly. They are used as genetic donors to create fruits and vegetables that increase yield and are the mechanism used to clean up various environmental hazards and make energy sources more efficient and readily available. Though these organisms are used in different ways, similar concerns apply to each, showing that there are still many obstacles to overcome for various types of engineers in the future.
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FernandezCornejo.docx (42.5 KB)
Modern biotechnology was born at the hands of American scientists Herb Boyer and Stain Cohen, when they developed “recombinant deoxyribonucleotide, (rDNA), [1] for medicinal purposes. Subsequently, biotechnologists started genetically engineering agricultural plants using this technology. A single gene responsible for a certain trait, from one organism (usually a bacterium) is selected altered and then ‘spliced” into the DNA of a plant to create an agricultural crop consisting of that...
Barbara Kingsolver discusses genetic manipulation through generations of different species in her essay A Fist in the Eye of God. These genetic manipulations occur due to the species acclimating to their environment. Diversity in genes is nature’s survival of the fittest. Only the strongest survive and they pass on their strong traits. With today’s technology, we have the capability of altering genes within a species DNA. This paper examines the detrimental repercussions that GMO 's cause to the environment and insects necessary for the progression of crops.
E. coli produces very rapidly; a single microscopic cell can divide to form a visible colony with millions of cells overnight (phschool.com). It is the preferred bacteria in most laboratories because it grows fast and easy, and can obtain energy from a wide variety of sources. Since the birth of molecular cloning, E. coli has been used as a host for introduced DNA sequences (biotechlearn.org.nz). In 1973, Boyer and Cohen showed that two short pieces of DNA could be cut and pasted together, and returned to E.coli.
One of the most prominent crops in the GMO industry is Bt corn. The Bt pesticide stands for Bacillus Thuringiensis. Scientists transferred the Bt gene into the corn to create a crop that produces its own pesticides. As the corn matures, it grows stronger poi...
Eukaryotic cells share several distinguishing features, such as: cytoplasm within specialized organelles such as the mitochondria, chloroplast, the Golgi complex, both a rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, a nuclear envelope that isolates DNA from the cytoplasm, and a endomembrane system that provides structure and function to the organelles of the cell. Both the mitochondrion and chloroplast are energy transducing organelles, meaning that they transform energy from one form to another, and are believed to be evolved from free living prokaryotes as held by the theory of endosymbiosis. This theory suggests that infolding of the plasma membrane coupled with the absorption of a prokaryotic cells by other prokaryotes could evolve into a later, more complex and specialized type of cell and is proofed by related morphological features such as between cytobacteria and chloroplasts, and between mitochondria and aerobic prokaryotes. Further substantiation includes mitochondria and chloroplasts reproduction through binary fission like prokaryotes, the presence of DNA in both free living prokaryotes and in energy transducing organelles (apart from in the nucleus), protein synthesis and the presence of enzymes and ribosomes where the ribosomes of prokaryotes are comparable to those in mitochondria and chloroplast,
There are three main divisions of living organisms: Prokaryotes, eukaryotes and archaea. This essay will outline the division between the prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms and explore the reasoning behind such differences with regard to general structure, storage of deoxyribonucleic acid and its replication, metabolic processes, protein synthesis and ribonucleic acid processing.
There are numerous types of bacteria that can be found in every environment. Each bacterium has different morphology which includes shape, texture and pigment production. These bacteria also have different food requirements which are important in being able to identify a microorganism. Microorganisms are a diverse group containing all bacteria a single cell prokaryotic organism that is found in every type of environment, archea single cell microorganism that lacks nuclei and almost all microorganisms are protozoa a unicellular eukaryotic organism. By identifying the causative agent of a bacterium within an individual, an antibiotic can be developed to prevent health issues. Microorganisms are also used to make certain food products for human consumption. An example of this would be the production of yogurt. It has probiotics that help with digestive abnormalities amongst other things. Probiotics are microorganisms that are consumed to provide health benefits in the body. Probiotics work by replacing the disturbed microbe with ones that are useful to digest. With the methods that wer...
Prokaryotes affect us in our daily lives, other then food production with out bacteria we would not be able to test against human immunity. They also play roles in oxygen atmosphere, human digestion, and waste broken down
Talaro , K., & Chess, B. (2012). Foundations in microbiology. (8th ed., pp. 563-564). New York, NY:
The term ‘genetic engineering’ covers several methods of manipulating genetic material, otherwise known as genetic manipulation; recombinant DNA technology and gene therapy in humans (Atkinson, 1998). This technique is not only used for genetic transfer between plants but, genes from non-plant organisms can be used as well. A known example of this is the transfer of the B.t gene found in corn and other crops. The B.t gene, or otherwise known as ‘Bacillus thurngiensis (Bt)’; is a naturally occurring bacterium that creates proteins with crystals that are fatal to insect larvae (Whitman, 2000). These B.t genes have been transferred into the corn, allowing the corn to effectively produce its own pesticides against insects.
To excel in the field of Biology is not merely my dream, but my passion. I have started on this path of never-ending discovery and I want to master this science. It would not be unjustifying to state that the world is a better place today because of the advances in biological sciences. It truly promises to be an ever-advancing profession on this planet where better cures are required for freshly determined diseases on a day-to-day basis. Gene Technology and Biotechnology are a boon to this world. Putting microorganisms to use in the formation of insu...
Technology shapes the environment and even food foundations. The technology called genetic manufacturing has shaped the nutrition frugality since the first bacterium to be hereditarily reformed in 1973. There are three classifications used within genetic engineering: the plasmid technique, the vector technique, and the biolistic technique. The plasmid method, frequently the utmost used process includes bacteria providing plasmids, a minuscule sphere of DNA (The Jackson Laboratory). The rings that the plasmids emit are duplicating molecular generators within the cell. Plasmids are essentially indispensable to genetically contrived cells in the wildlife. Plasmids deliver an operational way in which characteristics that are not typically within a chromosome can be conceded from one cell to an alternative cell. Very few plasmids acquire genes that encode for enzymes such as penicillin or ampicillin and these materials dissolve antibiotics permitting a vast subsidy to the cell because they now become invulnerable to numerous classes of antibiotics. When these cells enclosing plasmids ceases from living adjacent cells clutch the plasmids and acclimate to the qualities that were attained in the previous transaction. He...
...e microorganisms to treat and clean contaminated water and soil as well as use it to remove contaminants naturally. I am so ready and eager to researching in environmental engineering because it will give me the opportunity to access another area in my field. One of my future goals is to teach an environmental engineering course at a university part time. This of course requires a graduate degree.
The current use of technology for GMOs can be very useful. Less pesticide is needed to be used due to insect pest resistant
Genetic engineering increases the agricultural economy, the yields of agricultural produce, and also causes negative effects on the ecosystem. Genetic engineering enhances plant resistance to drought, salinity, disease, pests and herbicides. The aim is to try and enhance the growth, productivity, nutrient value, and chemical composition of the plants. Chemicals are constantly being developed or improved to enhance the competitiveness and adaptability of crops, and to kill the parasites and weeds that plague the agricultural sector. . This however is not always good as the plant and the pests then become resistant to these new chemicals, defeating the purpose of it being used.