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Biotechnology
Usefulness of bacteria
Microorganisms are helpful for producing food and other useful materials. Microorganisms like bacteria can produce complex molecules and can reproduce rapidly making them ideal for large scale laboratory experiments as they have no ethical concerns. Bacteria contain plasmids that allow genetic modification by transferring DNA between cells.
Everyday products made with biotechnology
Biofuel
This is made using plant material and yeast Plants are cut up into small pieces and mixed with yeast. Yeast is a microorganism that respires anaerobically when exposed to sugar and oxygen. The liquid from the plant-yeast mixture is separated fom the solids and any water is removed, leaving a concentrated solution of ethanol. Fermentation formula: Glucose Ethanol + Carbon Dioxide C12H6O12 2C5H5OH + CO
Bread
Yeast can respire anaerobically if it has access to lots of sugar even if oxygen is present. This is used in bread making when the yeast is mixed with four and water. When yeast respires anaerobically, it produces carbon dioxide. This causes the bread to rise.
Fruit-Juice Production
Fruit juice is made by squeezing fruit to get the juice. A Lot of the juice is stored in the cells and the cell walls are hard to break down. Using the enzyme pectinase, can help break down the walls as it digests a chemical called pectin. This allows lots more juice to leave the fruit and make the juice less cloudy.
Biological Washing powders
Many stains on clothes are organic material - Oil from skin, fat and protein food and protein from blood. Detergents with only soap can only remove these stains in high temperatures and even then it takes a long time and lots of energy. Detergents that also contain enzymes can clean the clothes faster and more easily as the enzymes break down the chemicals - oil, protein and fat.
Other uses of biotechnology
Lactose is the sugar found in milk. It is broken down by the enzyme called lactase. Human bodies are born with the ability to produce lactase, however, as people grow older, they may lose the ability to produce lactase. This is known as lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerant people may experience nausea, diarrhea, and flatulence if they have any lactose products. Milk can be made lactose free by adding the lactase to it and letting it sit for a while to let the enzymes break down the lactose.
work properly. pH can be adjusted using acids and alkalis. Oxygenation Oxygen is needed for respiration Agitation The stirring paddles are used to evenly distribute pH, temperature, nutrients and oxygen Waste Microorganisms waste products are filtered out.
Mycoprotein
Fusarium is a fungus used in large scale production to producemycoprotein which is a food source rich in protein and ideal for vegetarians. An example of mycoprotein, is Quorn™. Fusarium is fermented in large vats with optimum pH and temperature for it to grow. It is provided with glucose syrup and oxygen to allow aerobic respiration to occur. The fungus then grows and multiplies within the fermenter which is then harvested and purified to produce mycoprotein.
Insulin production
Genetic modification is when the DNA in a living organism is changed. Scientists can remove DNA from an organism or they can alter the DNA to form completely different instructions. The organism with changed or removed DNA is known as a transgenic organism and the DNA is called a recombinant DNA. This is used in Insulin production when scientists take genes from a person who is able to produce insulin and put it into bacteria to ensure large scale production. The insulin is collected from the bacteria and purified so doctors can use it to help diabetic people.
Practice questions forBiotechnology
- (a) Explain why bacteria are useful in biotechnology.[ 3 ]
● They can reproduce rapidly and can creat complex biological molecules. Additionally, there are few ethical reasons regarding large scale production of them.
(b) Describe the role of plasmids in genetic modification. [ 2 ]
(c) Explain why bacteria are preferred for large-scale laboratory experiments over more complex organisms.
● Because there are few ethical reasons regarding them in large scale production.
- The production of biofuel involves the breakdown of plant material by yeast. (a) Explain the role of yeast in biofuel production. [ 3 ]
● Yeast respire anaerobically when provided with sugar. The yeast reacts with the plant material forming a concentrated solution of Ethanol.
(c) Suggest why using enzymes in fruit juice production is beneficial to manufacturers. [ 2 ]
● It produces less cloudy, higher amounts of fruit juice.
- (a) Explain how enzymes in biological washing powders work to remove stains. [ 3 ]
● Stains are normally organic matter like fat or protein. Enzymes can be used to break those down and clean faster and more efficiently
(b) State two advantages of using biological washing powders compared to non-biological detergents. [ 2 ]
● Time saving - it takes less time to get stains out of clothes ● Money saving - normal washing powder requires higher temperatures and more amounts of soap and water.
(c) Explain why biological washing powders should not be used in very hot water. [ 2 ]
● The enzymes could denature and not e able to do their work, breaking down of organic matter, efficiently.
- (a) Define lactose intolerance. [ 2 ]
● This is when the body does not produce the enzymelactase to break down
lactose, causing nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting.
(b) Describe how biotechnology is used to produce lactose-free milk. [ 3 ]
● Lactase is put into the milk before and set aside for a while to let the
lactase break down the lactose in the milk, creating lactose - free milk.
(c) Explain why some people develop lactose intolerance as they grow older. [ 2 ]
● Some people may not be able to produce lactase as they grow older
- (a) Describe how penicillin was discovered. [ 3 ]
(b) Explain why penicillin is produced on a large scale using fermenters. [ 2 ]
(c) State two reasons why aseptic conditions must be maintained in a fermenter. [ 2 ]
