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Products of Transgenic Animals
Products of Transgenic Animals
Transgenic animals are organisms that have other species' genes inserted into their own genome. They are often important in producing substances used in medicine.
The ability to produce human proteins from other organisms has been possible since the 1980s. Which of these medicines do you think was first produced using genetically modified bacteria in 1982?
We produce insulin by using gene modification - we insert the human gene for insulin into the bacteria E.coli. This useful human insulin gene is an example of a transgene. It is a gene that has been transferred from one species to another by humans.
A transgenic animal is an animal that has been...
Which of these do you think are real examples of transgenic modification? So things that have actually been done. Pick all the options you think are correct.
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One of the key benefits of developing transgenic animals is to produce human proteins that can then be used for medical treatments.
Medication
Animals such as cows, sheep and pigs, have been modified to contain genes to make useful proteins.
These proteins are then secreted by the animal into their milk. This can be refined and extracted, and then used as a medicine.
Pick all the options that you think might be produced by modifying animals' genes.
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In 1990, Tracey the Sheep was created. She was a transgenic sheep, designed to produce milk with a protein that could be used to treat cystic fibrosis. It worked out well, and the inserted gene was passed on to future generations of sheep without any further intervention.
Xenotransplantation
It is possible to genetically modify a species by adding whole sections of DNA, several genes at a time.
This has been done with pigs to make them grow human organs, such a heart or a liver etc.
Using an organ grown in this way and transplanting it into a human patient is known as xenotransplantation. Pick all the options for why you think this might be considered a good idea.
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Adding genes from one species to another, to produce transgenic animals, could produce new treatments for may conditions. It can also be used to modify food animals to improve yields and disease resistance to help feed a growing global population.
Transgenic animals do raise concerns, however: We can't know what might happen if we change species. Are these medications safe to use? Is food from a transgenic species safe? These are questions and concerns that science can try to answer. What kinds of questions can science not answer?
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Religious and ethical concerns about the use of transgenic animals are based on an individual's own view of the world and their beliefs. What might some of these objects or concerns be?
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