Gene Technology

What Gene Technology covers

Gene Technology is examined in Unit A2 2, Biochemistry, Genetics and Evolutionary Trends, and drawn on again in Unit A2 3, the practical skills examination. It covers the polymerase chain reaction, DNA probes and genetic markers, microarrays, pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine, genetic fingerprinting and gel electrophoresis, the stages of gene transfer, genetically modified microorganisms, transgenic animals and plants, gene therapy, genome sequencing and the Human Genome Project, gene inactivation and knockout organisms and social, ethical and ecological issues of gene technology.

The 11 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The polymerase chain reactionPurpose of the polymerase chain reaction, primer in the polymerase chain reaction and why two different primers are required.Open →
• DNA probes and genetic markersDNA probe, microsatellite repeat sequence and single nucleotide polymorphism.Open →
• Microarrays, pharmacogenetics and personalised medicineDNA microarray, two distinct uses of microarray technology and personalised medicine.Open →
• Genetic fingerprinting and gel electrophoresisGenetic fingerprinting, restriction endonuclease and how DNA fragments are separated by gel electrophoresis.Open →
• The stages of gene transferSticky ends, how reverse transcriptase is used to obtain a gene and vector in gene technology.Open →
• Genetically modified microorganismsRecall questions on inserting a human gene into a bacterium, the plasmid as a vector, restriction enzymes and ligase, the production of insulin and other proteins, and the advantages over extracting the product from an animal.Open →
• Transgenic animals and plantsTransgenic organism, using transgenic animals to produce substances of pharmaceutical value and value of engineering crops that tolerate drought or salty soil.Open →
• Gene therapyGene therapy, why an absent or faulty gene can cause disease and why liposomes are sometimes preferred to viral vectors.Open →
• Genome sequencing and the Human Genome ProjectGenome of an organism, genome sequencing and two main aims of the Human Genome Project.Open →
• Gene inactivation and knockout organismsThree ways in which a gene can be made inoperative, knockout mouse and knockin mouse.Open →
• Social, ethical and ecological issues of gene technologyHow using bacterial strains ill-adapted to human physiology improves safety and suicide gene.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Gene Technology further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the purpose of the polymerase chain reaction?

   Model answer

   The polymerase chain reaction amplifies a tiny sample of DNA, producing millions of copies of a chosen target sequence in a few hours.

2. 2

   Name the three steps of one cycle of the polymerase chain reaction in the order they occur.

   Model answer

   Each cycle consists of heating to separate the strands, cooling to allow the primers to anneal, and warming to allow the polymerase to extend the primers.

3. 3

   To what temperature is the reaction mixture heated in the first step, and what does this achieve?

   Model answer

   The mixture is heated to about 95 °C, which breaks the hydrogen bonds between the base pairs so the double helix separates into two single strands.

4. 4

   Why is the mixture then cooled to around 55 °C?

   Model answer

   Cooling allows the short primers to bind by complementary base pairing to the sequences at each end of the target region, which they could not do at the higher temperature.

5. 5

   What is a primer in the polymerase chain reaction?

   Model answer

   A primer is a short single strand of DNA with a base sequence complementary to one end of the target region, which marks where copying is to begin.

6. 6

   Explain why two different primers are required.

   Model answer

   The two strands of the target run in opposite directions, so one primer is needed to bind at each end and each is complementary to a sequence on a different strand.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Gene Technology revision questions

What does Gene Technology cover in CCEA A-Level Biology?

11 subtopics: the polymerase chain reaction, dna probes and genetic markers, microarrays, pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine, genetic fingerprinting and gel electrophoresis, the stages of gene transfer, genetically modified microorganisms, transgenic animals and plants, gene therapy, genome sequencing and the human genome project, gene inactivation and knockout organisms and social, ethical and ecological issues of gene technology. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Gene Technology organised?

By the CCEA 1010 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.