CP1 Biology Interactive Activity: Cloning Name



CP Biology Interactive Activity: Cloning Name _________________________

Objective: You will log on to the Internet and use information to discover the details of cloning. You will then use the information to draw conclusions as to the usefulness of cloning methods.

Directions:

1) Use the Internet to visit the following home page of this website:

2) Answer the following questions about cloning. Look for additional directions in bold type.

Note: If you have difficulty with the information, here is a site that offers a simplified animation which you may want to look at prior to this activity:

I. >>Select: CLONING

>>next, Select: “WHAT IS CLONING”

1) Define cloning:

Clones are organisms that are exact genetic copies. Every single bit of their DNA is identical.

Clones can happen naturally—identical twins are just one of many examples. Or they can be made in the lab.

2) TRUE OR FALSE? (T/F)

___F___ a) Dolly the sheep was the first organism to be cloned by scientists.

___F___ b) A somatic cell is the same as a reproductive cell.

3) What do we call naturally created clones in the human population? Identical Twins

4) Name the two processes that can be used by scientists to make an exact genetic copy of an organism.

a) Artificial Embryo Twinning

b) Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

5) Observe the videos on natural and artificial twinning. What is the main difference between the two

processes?

Artificial Embryo Twinning uses gamete cells and then separates the embryo into to separate embryos after fertilization

SCNT uses DNA from a diploid somatic cell (no gametes)

6) In 1997, a scientific laboratory in Edinborough, Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep by the process called

SCNT.

Complete this sentence: “[Dolly] was the first-ever...”:

mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell.

7) In SCNT, the nuclear material from the somatic donor cell is removed and placed in a donor egg cell. Check

out “See the real thing!” (on the right hand side of your screen) and observe the removal of the nuclear material and the placement in a donor egg cell.

What is the term for removing the nuclear material? Oocyte enucleation

What is the term for moving it to the donor cell? Cell Transfer

Scroll down to “Hoe Does SCNT Differ From the Natural Way of Making an Embryo?”

8) Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) differs from natural reproduction in several ways.

List two ways in which SCNT is different from natural reproduction.

In SCNT there is only one parent providing chromosomes and in natural reproduction there are two

In SCNT the offspring are identical to the parent organism and in natural reproduction – the offspring in a mixture of the two parents genetic traits

9) Check out the right sidebar: How does cloning an organism differ from cloning a gene?

Cloning an organism is copying all the genes from that organism (thousands and thousands of genes) to make a whole organism. Cloning a gene means copying ONE gene and placing in a more maneuverable form (like a DNA plasmid) to study that one genes functions and effects

II. Scroll back to the top of the page.

>>Select: “Home”

>>next, Select: “Cloning” (as you did in Part I).

>>next, Select: “Click and Clone”

10) Clone a mouse! Follow the directions (begin by clicking on Mimi the mouse) for each step in the process. After each step, briefly describe what occurred. Do not use the names of the mice.

1. A somatic cell was removed from the donor and an egg cell was removed from a different donor. Both cells were placed in separate petri dishes

2. A blunt pipette was used to hold the egg cell under the microscope and a sharp pipette was used to suck out the nucleus from the egg cell

3. Both cells are transferred to a new petri dish. The blunt pipette held the somatic cell. The sharp pipette sucked out the nucleus and then inserted it into the enucleated egg cell. The the egg cell and new nucleus were given time to adjust to this change.

4. A chemical is added to stimulate the egg cell to divide (just like it would have if it had just been fertilized by a sperm cell. The cell is given time to divided until the cells divide into a ball of cells called a morula.

5. The embryo is transferred into a surrogate mother mouse. The cells divide and specialize just like in normal pregnancy.

6. The baby is born and is a genetic clone to the donor of the somatic cell.

11) Who is “Cumulina?” Explain!

Cumulina was the name given to the first mouse to survive this cloning process – named for the cumulus cells from which the nuclear material was taken from the somatic cell donor

III. Scroll back to the top of the page.

>>Select: “Home”

>>next, Select: “Cloning” (as you did in Part I).

>>next, Select: “Why Clone”

12) List 3 ways that cloning could benefit medicine.

a) Cloning Animal Models of Diseases

b) Cloning to make stems cells

c) Drug Production

13) What is the current status in cloning to save endangered species?

Scientists have successfully cloned endangered species – but the concern over loss of genetic diversity is not address by this solution since all clones are genetically identical to the donors. In the long run – genetic diversity will be necessary for the survival of a population.

14) Is it likely that we will be able to clone a dinosaur? Why not?

It is unlikely that we will have DNA that is not severely damaged from that much time and there must be a near relative (genetically speaking) to act as a surrogate – which is also not possible right now.

V. Scroll back to the top of the page.

>>Select: “Home”

>>next, Select: “Cloning” (as you did in Part I).

>>next, Select: “Cloning Myths”

15) A myth is an inaccurate idea that people believe. Describe one myth about cloning and why it is not true.

Answers will vary – depending on what myth chosen

Online Activity: Stem Cells

Go to the following website for this activity:



Part 1. Click on “The Nature of Stem Cells”

Click on the arrow tabs to navigate through this narrated slideshow. Make sure your volume is “on” to hear the narration, but you can also click on the “CC” button to have the text shown on screen.

1. Specialized cells that carry out specific functions are called differentiated cells. In contrast, since a stem cell’s role in the body is not yet determined and it can give rise to multiple cell types (including other stem cells), it is considered undifferentiated.

2. The important roles of stem cells begin during our embryonic development and continue through adulthood.

3. At fertilization, a special kind of stem cell (in this case, a fertilized egg or zygote) is formed which has the potential to grown into a new human being as well as the placenta which nourishes the embryo.

4. All cells remain undifferentiated during the first few cell divisions in the newly-formed embryo and each one has the same potential as the fertilized egg. As development continues, the process of differentiation begins, in which instructions or signals gradually limit each cell’s potential.

5. One week after fertilization, the embryo is called a blastocyst and looks like a lopsided hollow ball. The cells around the outside will form the placenta. The inner cell mass will form all the cells of the body.

6. Two weeks after fertilization, we can see the organization of the embryonic cells into three distinct cell layers as the potential of these cells is limited even further. Different sets of cell types will result from each of the three layers.

7. The ectoderm (outer layer) will form the:skin, nervous system

The mesoderm (middle layer) will form the: muscle, bones, connective tissue, blood tissue

The endoderm (inner layer) will form the: digestive and respiratory tracts with associated glands

8. Cells will further differentiate as development continues, leading to approximately 250 different cell types found in the body. However, even adults still have some stem cells – these are known as adult or somatic stem cells and they are important for growth, maintenance and repair.

9. Some stem cells divide only when they receive a specific signal to direct them to do so; others work constantly to replace cells that are lost on a daily basis.

10. Somatic (adult) stem cells are different than embryonic stem cells because, under natural conditions: Adult stem cells can only form a few types of cells – not all

11. Bone marrow is special in that it contains massive amounts of stem cells.

However, most somatic stem cells in other tissue of the body are found sitting amongst large numbers of differentiated cells.

12. Name at least 4 other types of tissues in the human body which have been found to contain somatic stem cells: brain, blood, muscle, gut, teeth, liver

13. Stem cells give rise to all of our differentiated tissues and organs as we grow from fertilized eggs into fully formed human beings. Even into adulthood, stem cells help us to heal and maintain our bodies.

Part 2. Click on “Stem Cells Quick Reference”.

1. Embryonic Stem Cells (hES): Isolated from the inner cell mass of embryos in the blastocyst stage, hES have the potential to become any type of cell in the body. Significant ethical/legal concerns surround the destruction of a human embryo.

2.Adult Stem Cells (somatic stem cells): Blood and bone marrow stem cells are routinely used to treat blood-related diseases. Limited because these stem cells can only become a subset of related cell types. Most types of somatic stem cells are in low abundance and are difficult to isolate and grow in culture.

3.Induced Pluripotent Stem cells (iPS): Created artificially in the lab by “reprogramming” certain readily available cell types within a patient. Appear to be able to become any type of cell in the body, though more research is still needed in this area.

4. Therapeutic Cloning: a method for creating embryonic stem cells (ES) which are specific to each patient. This therapeutic cloning process involves somatic cell nuclear transfer in which the nucleus of a cell from a patient is transferred to an egg cell which has had its own nucleus removed. As the cell divides, it forms a blastocyst. The inner cell mass of that blastocyst contains ES which contain the patient’s own DNA . Significant ethical/legal concerns surround the creation and destruction of a cloned human embryo.

5. Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (STAP cells) are created artificially in the lab by stressing somatic cells. This remarkably simple procedure, published for the first time in 2014, efficiently and inexpensively makes stem cells that can become any type of cell not only in the embryo, but also in the placenta.

Part 3. Click on “Stem Cells in Use.”

1. When was the first successful bone marrow transplant? 1968

2. In one form of somatic stem cell therapy, a bone marrow transplant is used to cure Leukemia which is a cancer of the white blood cells (leukocytes).

3. peripheral blood stem cells: These are blood stem cells that can be found in the bloodstream. These PBSC’s can be used just like bone marrow stem cells to treat leukemia, other cancers and a variety of blood disorders. These are easy to collect from drawn blood but are few in number, making it difficult to collect enough for a transplant.

4. Stem cells from the blood of the umbilical cord (traditionally a discarded by-product of the birthing process) of a newborn baby has proven useful in treatments similar to the uses of bone marrow stem cells and PBSC’s. These cells have a benefit of being less prone to rejection than either bone marrow stem cells or peripheral blood stem cells. This may be due to the fact that these cells have not yet developed the features that the recipient’s immune system can recognize and attack.

Part 4. Click on “Unlocking Stem Cell Potential”.

1. The process of regeneration relies on stem cells and is common in many animals. Give one example of regeneration: starfish – new arms, newts – new limbs, lizards – new tails, planaria – new heads

2. Explain why regeneration in humans is described as “limited”. Our stems cells heal injuries – they do not replace missing pieces (except the liver)

3. Regenerative medicine is a new field of medicine involving the use of stem cells to heal damaged tissue that cannot repair itself.

4. It can be difficult to isolate and grow stem cells from our tissues once we are past the embryonic stages. Scientists are trying to find ways to activate the cells while they are still in the body to coax them to surpass their natural healing abilities.

5. Anti-depressant drugs stimulate the growth of neurons in the brain. Scientists would like to develop new drugs that can do activate the healing abilities of stem cells in other types of damaged tissues.

6. Another approach involves giving patients transplants of stem cells that were grown in a lab

7. Scientists are developing new ways to use somatic stem cells as they build on technology used in bone marrow transplants. Other treatments may instead utilize Embryonic (hES) stem cells or IPS (induced pluripotent stem cells), both of which can develop into any type of cell in the body.

8. Scientists can grow hES and IPS indefinitely in culture and give them certain signalling molecules which can cause them to differentiate into cells of different types which may someday be used for transplants in order to grow new, healthy tissue.

9. Give an example of the technique described in #8 above: growing patches to replace damaged heart tissue, growing organs such as livers and kidneys

10. Summarize the successful use of stem cell transplant in treating mouse spinal cord injuries. Stems cells wrapped around the damaged spinal cord cells and improved the rat’s ability to walk

11. Scientists are using what they have learned by making transgenic mice to develop a new kind of gene therapy.

12. Doctors create Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPS) from cells from a patient with a genetic disorder. Then, the a copy of the functional gene is put into the cells in place of the defective gene. After the cells are differentiated into the proper cell type they can be put back into the patient.

13. The technique described in #12 above to successfully cure Sickle Cell Anemia in mice.

14. Stem cells are helping us learn more about cancer. Like stem cells, cancer cells grow rapidly and remain undifferentiated. Some tumors may in fact be stem cells growing out of control. Learning about the regulation of growth and differentiation of stem cells may help with the development of new medications to fight cancer.

15. The possibilities for stem cells seem limitless, but we are discovering the actual potential and limitations of these techniques as more research is carried out.

Part 5. Click on “The Stem Cell Debate : Is it Over?”

. List 2 concerns that cause people to debate the use of stem cells.

. Does life begin at fertilization, in the womb, or at birth?

. Is a human embryo equivalent to a human child?

. Does a human embryo have any rights?

. Might the destruction of a single embryo be justified if it provides a cure for a countless number of patients?

Since ES cells can grow indefinitely in a dish and can, in theory, still grow into a human being, is the embryo really destroyed?

If time permits, check out “Go, Go Stem Cells” for engaging animations of stem cells at work.

Biology Name

Genetic Engineering – Creating a GM Crop

Part I. Overview of Genetic Engineering



What are the steps for creating a genetically engineered crop?

. 1. Locating an organism with a specific trait and extracting its DNA.

. 2. Cloning a gene that controls the trait.

. 3. Designing a gene to express in a specific way.

. 4. Transformation, inserting the gene into the cells of a crop plant.

5. Plant breeding to get the transgene into an elite background.

Spend a few minutes stepping through each of the pages on the website (use the forward arrow) to learn more about each of the above steps before you move on to Parts 2 and 3.

Part 2. Try it! Create Bt Corn.

Select “Bt Corn – Corn resistant to European corn borer”.

There are 10 different pictures to choose from. You need to find the correct five pictures for the five steps of genetic engineering. The computer will guide you through your choices, indicating when you are correct or not. Once you have the five steps correct, write them here:

1.Extract DNA from Bt Bacteria

2. Clone Bt gene

3.Modify Bt gene

4.Insert Bt gene into corn cells

5.Breed Corn

Now click the “Create Plant” icon that appears. Fill in the following blanks as you go.

There are 5 main steps in the process of crop genetic engineering.

They are: 1. Extract DNA.; 2. Clone a single gene.; 3. Modify the gene.; 4. transformation; 5. Backcross breeding.

Every organism has a molecule called DNA in every cell that holds the information for how to produce all the proteins that organism will need during its entire life.

All of the DNA is extracted out of an organism that has the desired trait.

The single gene that codes for the desired protein must then be located and copied out of all the DNA extracted from the organism’s cells.

Once the gene of interest has been cloned, genetic engineers modify it to express in a specific way when inside the plant.

Enzymes are used to cut the gene apart. One or more of the three gene regions can then be replaced or modified. The gene regions are then bonded back together and function as a normal gene. Since the DNA has been cut apart and put back together in a ‘new combination’, it is called recombinant DNA

After gene modification, the new gene is inserted into a single plant cell using one of the tranformation methods, such as the gene gun or agrobacterium.

(You can read about the gene gun here:

)

The transgene must land in the cell’s nucleus and be incorporated into one of the chromosomes. This enables it to be expressed and passed on to offspring.

Plant cells are totipotent meaning a single cell from any part of the plant can divide and multiply into another complete plant. Every time the cell replicates and divides, all of the chromosomes are copied including the new gene.

The result is a transgenic plant with the new gene in every one of its cells. Backcross breeding is then used to move the transgene into a high yielding elite line, and the resulting hybrids are tested and evaluated for release. The final result is a high yielding transgenic hybrid or variety that expresses a new trait. Out of millions of cells that undergo the transformation process, only 1 or 2 may lead to a marketable hybrid.

When you finish, CLICK “Cinna-apples” in the upper left hand corner.

Part 3. Try it! Create Cinna-apples.

There are 10 different pictures to choose from. You need to find the correct five pictures for the five steps of genetic engineering. The computer will guide you through your choices, indicating when you are correct or not. Once you have the five steps correct, write them here:

1.Extract DNA from cinnamon

2. Clone cinnamon flavor gene

3.Modify cinnamon flavor gene

4.Insert cinnamon flavor into apple cells

5.Breed Corn

Want more practice? Try this:

Part 4. Monarch Butterflies

In 1999 it was reported that Bt corn pollen had toxic effects on the monarch butterfly larvae. Some milkweed grows next to corn fields and Bt corn pollen may drift onto the milkweed and harm the monarch larvae feeding on those plants. This issue was thoroughly studied and the results shared with the scientific community. Here on the USDA’s website you can read the findings from the Agricultural Research Service.

Summarize the conclusion regarding the risk of Bt corn to monarch butterflies.

Scientist concluded that Bt corn pollen did not pose a threat to monarch caterpillars/butterflies because the levels of concentration were too low to pose a significant risk

Would you eat genetically modified Bt corn? Why or why not? Answers will vary

Would you eat genetically modified Cinna Apples? Why or why not? Answers will vary

Part 5. Quiz: How much do you know about GMO’s?

1. Read the article here:

2. Then watch two videos –

a) and here:

b) Through the LHS Media Center website, go to “Online Databases and ebooks” then Select “Classroom Video on Demand” and then in the search box type 36227 to watch “The Seeds of a New Era”.

Part 6. So…What do you Think? Based on What you now know, do you think we should we raise GM crops?



After completing all of the above steps to this activity, what’s your final answer –

should we raise GM crops?

____YES ____NO

Biology Name

Gel Electrophoresis Virtual Lab

Part I. What is DNA Fingerprinting?

On your computer, visit the following website and view the animation to learn about DNA Fingerprinting. Answer the questions based on what you learned from the animation.



Note: If you have difficulty with this topic, you may want to check out this animation prior to doing this activity:

1. DNA Fingerprinting is a method of identification based on an individual’s DNA.

2. In traditional DNA fingerprinting, DNA is collected from cells (ex, blood sample) and cut into small pieces using a restriction enzyme.

3. Thousands of fragments of differing sizes are generated. Gel electrophoresis is then used to separate the fragments on the basis of size.

4. The fragments are then transferred to a filter to make a gel blot.

5. The DNA fragments in the blot are permanently fixed to the filter and the DNA strands are denatured.

6. Radiolabeled probe molecules are then added that are complementary to sequences in the genome that contain repeat sequences.

7. These repeat sequences tend to vary in their length from one individual to another and are called VNTR (variable tandem repeat sequences).

8. The probe molecules attach (hybridize) to the VNTRs and excess probe molecules are washed away.

9. When the blot is exposed to x-ray film, dark bands will show up indicating the position of the fragments of DNA that have bound the probe.

10. Different patterns of bands will be seen from samples from different individuals.

(Note: There are no questions regarding the description of the automated microsatellite procedure utilizing fluorescent labeling.)

Part II. Simulated Gel Electrophoresis On your computer, visit the following website to complete this activity:

1. What are you holding in the simulation? A small plastic tube with clear liquid containing DNA fragments of different lengths

2. What is your goal? To figure out what the lengths of the pieces are

3. Why do we need gel electrophoresis for this? Why can’t we just measure them directly, like with a ruler or some other similar tool? DNA is too small to see – even under a microscope

4. The “gel” used in gel electrophoresis is said to act similar to a filter – please explain. It is like a jello sponge with lots of tiny holes which the DNA fragments must travel through – the longer the pieces – the slower it travels throught the holes

5. What goes into the holes at one end of the gel?the liquid containing the DNA

6. What does “electrophoresis” mean and how does it work in this procedure? Electrical current passes through the gel and makes the DNA move

7. How do the short vs. long strands get sorted as they go through the gel? Short pieces travel more easily throught the gel and get farther than long pieces which do not travel as far

8. What are the “bands” in the gel, and name 2 reasons why we can see them with the naked eye. The bands are stained groups of DNA pieces that are the same size. We can see them because there are many of them and they are stained

List the 5 basic steps you used to perform gel electrophoresis.

Step 1. Make the gel

Step 2. Set up the gel apparatus

Step 3. Load the DNA sample into the gel

Step 4. Hook up the electrical current and “run the gel”

Step 5. Stain the gel and analyze the results

Part III. Application

Watch a video of the technique to prepare a gel:



Watch a video of the technique for loading the samples into the wells:

Watch a video of the dyes running in the gel:

Part IV. Analyzing sample results/data

In this activity, 5 known dye samples were

used in Lanes 1-5. Lanes 6, 7 and 8 contained

unknowns which were mixtures of the five

different ‘knowns’.

This page shows the results & data

from this experiment.

The dotted line represents the location of the wells for each lane. In other words, this is where each dye sample started to move from.

In the data table below, negative numbers represent dyes which moved toward the negative pole (positive moved toward the positive pole).

ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

Answer the following questions based on the reading and the data.

1. Based on the direction of migration, migration distance, and the appearance of the gel, what dye components were present in each of the unknown dye mixtures?

Unknown #1 xylene cyanol, ponceau G

Unknown #2 bromophenol blue, methyl orange, ponceau G

Unknown #3 xylene cyanol, pyronin Y

2. Which dye molecule traveled farthest through the gel? Which traveled the shortest distance through the gel? Longest: Ponceau G, then Bromophenol Blue and Pyronin Y

Shortest: Xylene Cyanol and then Methyl Orange

3. What properties affect migration distance?

the size of the molecules

4. What was the charge of the dye molecules that migrated toward the positive electrode (pole) and of the dye molecules that migrated toward the negative electrode (pole)? How do you know?

Dye that moved to the positive pole was negative charged – and dyes that moved to the negative pole were positively charged - opposite charges attract

5. Why is electrical current necessary for separating molecules by gel electrophoresis? The electrical current can repel the molecules and force them to move away from the source of the electrical current

6. Why is the porous matrix of agarose gels an essential component of molecule separation by gel electrophoresis? The pores (holes) allow the DNA to move through the gel

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