Today we will

• Understand what Diabetes is and how it affects the person

• Understand how insulin can be produced by recombinant DNA technology

The problem - Diabetes

• What do you know?• Symptoms? • Cause? • Treatment?

Insulin – what is it exactly?

• A hormone (chemical messenger) that allows glucose to pass from the blood into your cells.

How it works

The solution - how can we getb lots of insulin?

• Other animals?

Get something less cute to make it for us using the gene for insulin.

Recombinant DNA technology

• Joining together DNA molecules from two different species. This is then inserted into a host organism which can produce new genetic combinations that are useful to us

Bacteria – E. coli

Transformation

And this is how…

Steps (not in order)

The gene for insulin is isolated andremoved from human DNA leaving it with sticky ends

A plasmid from the bacteria E coli is removed and cut open using restriction enzymes

The insulin gene is inserted into the bacterial plasmid using DNA ligase

The recombinant plasmid is taken up by the bacteria by transformation

The bacteria reproduces, making copies of the gene each time, allowing lots of insulin to be produced

Key wordsIsolated gene Sticky ends Vector Plasmid Restriction enzyme DNA ligaseRecombinant plasmid Transformation

What else?

Recombinant D

NAPLASMID

Vector

Restriction

enzyme

Transformation

Insulin

Pancreas

Sticky ends

Gene

Host

DNA ligase

HORMONE