Describe The Pros And Cons Of Bacteria And Microorganisms

Pros and Cons of Genetically Modifying Bacteria and Microorganism
Modifications of bacteria and microorganisms are attained by genetic engineering, also knowns as genetic modification. It is a kind of biotechnology which is able to change the genome of a certain cell directionally, regardless of species boundaries.
To modify genes accurately, a few steps are listed as follows. First of all, the desired gene from the donating cell is cut by a restriction enzyme, which can recognize a specific nucleotide section, creating sticky ends. Later on, the DNA fragments will be injected into a vector, such as the circular plasmid in a bacterium, which could replicate easily with the help of several enzymes, including DNA ligase to make it easier to

First of all, diseased caused by bacteria or microorganisms can be effectively prevented by altering their related genes, simply by separating the area of genes that lead to the disease. On top of that, because of the properties--- no barriers between species and selecting breeding, it presents high value in the medical science area, by means of inserting genes from a certain species into bacteria to produce target products. The diabetics used to be treated by extracting insulin from cows or pigs. However, due to the gene differences with human insulin gene on the B chain, it could cause side effects to eyes or kidney for constant usage. Later, scientists began to extract desired insulin genes in human DNA and place it into plasmids from e-coli, and send the mixed DNA back to e-coli. Due to the rapid reproduction of e-coli, insulin genes are quickly spread to a large number of bacteria and produce insulin after transcription and translation. As the technology becomes mature, an increasing number of diseases can be remitted or cured

Gene-modified bacteria and crops have been playing an important role in curing diseases and reducing starvation. On the other hand, it may threaten our health someday. We are supposed to be cautious with the application of genetic modification. If I were the society leader taking charge of it, I will mainly focus on the safety. The practical process of it should slower down, with longer time of testing to ensure the safety and limit more when applying to a wide range. And scientists are not supposed to modify gene whatever they want. As for the public, information should be popularized that genetic modifications are not absolutely good or bad. The genetic engineering seems to have a good prospect in the future, but it is still hard to determine the extent or difficulty of