Some Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology
Recombinant DNA technology involves using enzymes and various laboratory techniques to manipulate and isolate DNA segments of interest. This method can be used to combine (or splice) DNA from different species or to create genes with new functions. The resulting copies are often referred to as recombinant DNA.
Recombinant DNA is the general name for a piece of DNA that has been created by combining two or more fragments from different sources. Recombinant DNA is possible because DNA molecules from all organisms share the same chemical structure, differing only in the nucleotide sequence.
The applications of recombinant DNA technology are various, some of them are
Food Industry
The applications of biotechnology in the production and processing of food encompass a very large and diverse field. Modern biotechnology is applied in the improvement of food taste, and yield, increasing nutritive values, and shelf life. It is also applied in fermentation and enzymic processes.
Pharmaceutical Industry
Diabetic patients often require injections of human insulin to help control levels of glucose, as they have lost the ability to regulate blood glucose effectively. Using rDNA to create human insulin rather than obtain it form animal sources allows their widespread use across the pharmaceutical industry.
Recombinant human growth hormone is used to support normal growth and development for patients with malfunctions in the pituitary gland. This offers a noticeable benefit, particularly when contrasted to previously used methods of obtaining the hormone from cadavers, which could pose serious negative health effects.
Blood clotting factors play an essential role in the management of patients that suffer from hemophilia, a bleeding disorder involving lack of ability to produce enough blood clotting factor VIII for blood coagulation to function as normal. The ability to manufacture recombinant blood clotting factor VIII allows larger quantities to be used in practice and reduces the need for blood donation to obtain the factor naturally.
Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver that can be prevented with the hepatitis B vaccine. Recombinant DNA of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen is produced in yeast cells to be included in the vaccine. This is beneficial as the hepatitis virus does not proliferate in vitro and recombinant DNA provides a method to create the DNA needed to control hepatitis B.
Medical Research
Recombinant DNA has been used in the development of the most common diagnostic techniques for HIV.
1- The antibody test uses a recombinant HIV protein to measure antibodies in the body that proliferate when there is a HIV infection.
2- The DNA test uses reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect presence of HIV genetic material. This technique was developed using rDNA of molecules and analyzing the genome sequences.
Agricultural Industry
Some commercial crops, such as soy, maize, sorghum, canola, alfalfa and cotton, are grown with recombinant DNA that increases resistance to herbicides used in the agricultural process. Recent developments have enabled plants to express a recombinant form of Bt toxin protein usually produced by Bacillus thuringeiensis bacteria. This is naturally able to control insects threatening agricultural crops and has become a common practice in both gardening and farming. Recombinant DNA is useful in agriculture because it allows scientists to modify the genetic makeup of crops to improve their yield, quality, and resistance to pests and diseases.
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