Microbiology Chapter 8
Synthetic biology may be used to:
-create an operon using genes from different microbes -create a cell whose entire chromosome was synthesized in vitro -create an antibody with defined specificity
synthetic biology
field of biology the combines parts of different organisms to create new molecules and cells never before found in nature
Methods of gene transfer in bacteria
-Conjugation -Transformation -Transduction
Mutant Strains show variation in one or more:
-Morphology -Nutritional Characteristics -Genetic control mechanisms -Resistance to chemicals -Temperature prefrence -Any type of enzymatic function
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
-Only a single nucleotide is altered -Passed on genetically
Transposons are linked to which of the following in bacteria:
-Replacement of damaged DNA -Inter-microbial transfer of drug resistance -Phenotypic changes in colonies
Specialized transduction
transfers pieces next to the prophage insertion site in the bacterial chromosomes
generalized transduction
transfers random pieces of host cell DNA
Which two types of horizontal gene transfer do NOT require direct contact between the donor and recipient cells?
-Transformation -Transduction
phage
A virus that infects bacteria
Horizontal Gene Transfer
Any transfer of DNA that results in organisms acquiring new genes that did not come from parent organisms
What does CRISPR stand for?
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
Transposons
DNA sequences that can switch sites in a genome and lead to changes in the genotype
Conjugation
Genetic transmission through direct contact between two cells
Transformation
chromosome released by lysed cell breaks into fragments small enough to be accepted by a recipient cell
vertical gene transfer
Transfer of DNA from parent organisms during reproduction
Wild Type
a microorganism that exhibits a natural, non-mutated characteristic
A bacterial cell described as competent can:
accept soluble DNA from the surrounding environment
Point mutation
addition, deletion, or substitution of bases
Silent Mutation
alters a base but does not change the amino acid and thus has no effect
Missense mutation
any change in the code that leads to placement of a different amino acid
somatic cell therapy
changes to the genome of an individual that are not passed on to offspring
transduction
involves the transfer of DNA via bacteriophages
Recombination
one bacterium donates DNA to another bacterium. the end result is a new strain different from both the donor and the original recipient strain.
plasmid
small, circular piece of DNA located in the cytoplasm of many bacteria that is capable of independent replication and usually contains nonessential genes
Gene therapy
the replacement of a faulty gene responsible for a disease with the wild type gene
A codon contains how many nucleotides?
three
