Topic: Transgenic plants and animals

Target group

High school / technical school student

Core curriculum

General requirements

V. Reasoning and applying the acquired knowledge to solving biological problems. Student:

1. interprets information and explains causal relationships between processes and phenomena, formulates conclusions.

Specific requirements

XV. Biotechnology. Basics of genetic engineering. Pupil:

6. explains what a transgenic and GMO organism is; describes methods for obtaining transgenic organisms;

7. presents the potential benefits and threats resulting from the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, industry, medicine and scientific research; gives examples of products obtained using genetically modified organisms.

Old core curriculum

General requirements

II. Reasoning and argumentation. The student interprets the information and explains causal relationships between facts, formulates conclusions, evaluates and expresses opinions on the issues discussed in contemporary biology, ecological and environmental issues.

Specific requirements

1. Biotechnology and genetic engineering. Student:

4) presents the potential benefits and risks of using transgenic plants in agriculture and transgenic animals in laboratory and industrial research.

General aim of education

Pupils explain what transgenic organisms are

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to define the concept of a transgenic organism;;

• about the benefits and risks resulting from the modifying of organisms.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• exposing

  • exposition.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher gives the topic, the goals of the lesson in a language understandable for the student, and the criteria of success.

Realization

• The teacher divides the class into groups and each of them recommends preparing a short summary of one of the following topics: organisms genetically modified as a result of natural mutations or interspecies crossbreeds; types of genetic modifications created by biotechnology methods; purposes of genetic modification of animals; difficulties in genetic modification of animals; use of genetically modified animals for scientific purposes Additional information can be found at: www.rhs.org.uk, www.iaea.org, followed by the phrase „mutation‑breeding”, www.easierfarming.com.

• Participants will familiarize themselves with the content presented in the interactive illustration entitled „Transgenic plants”. The teacher asks pupils to exchange the benefits of introducing foreign DNA into the genome of other organisms, eg immunity to pests and diseases.

• The teacher presents and discusses examples of selected transgenic organisms (plant and animal), presenting their advantages and disadvantages in relation to traditional varieties..

• The teacher gives the students a questionnaire about my attitude towards transgenic plants. Students individually mark answers according to their beliefs..

• The teacher subsequently reads the questions from the questionnaire and asks for raising the hands of the persons who gave the affirmative answer and then - the persons who answered in the negative. These numbers are noted on the board.

• Students together with the teacher analyze the distribution of answers to individual questions. Throughout the open discussion, both those who gave the affirmative and negative answer present their arguments. The class jointly determines which of these arguments are substantive arguments, and which of them are arguments of an emotional nature. Then the pupils reflect together what is the cause of their fears and hopes related to transgenic organisms and what actions should be taken so that this issue does not cause extreme emotions.

Summary

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• The teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed in class. He answers the additional questions of the proteges and explains all their doubts. Students complete notes.

Homework

• Imagine that you have the opportunity to interview an academic - a specialist in the field of today's lesson. What questions would you like to ask him? Write them down.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Transgenic plants and animals

Currently, it is possible to select specific genes and insert them into plants. The created transgenic plants and products obtained from them are subjected to very rigorous tests to rule out, for example, the emergence of allergies in humans and possible harmful effects on other plants and animals.

The use of genetically modified plants can bring many benefits to humanity, one of which is the possibility of constructing varieties of plants that are resistant to adverse environmental conditions. Plants are also transformed in order to conduct scientific research on them. Their purpose is to produce plants containing, for example, vaccines or antibiotics. The use of GM plants enable to increase the crops and reduce the use of chemical insecticides. This lowers the cost of crop production. The food is also modified to improve its taste and extend its durability. GM plants various substances, e.g. medicines, which are isolated from the plant cells and used in the industry.

There are also concerns about the disadvantages of genetic modifications. Due to the relatively short time of using modified plants, it is not known whether human consumption of GM foods won’t cause some negative effects, for example allergies. Despite conducting many researches, no scientific data confirmed that products derived from transgenic plants aren’t toxic to humans, but there is also no evidence that they are harmful to the human body.

There are concerns that resistance genes may pass through herbicides or insects from GM plants to wild (unmodified) plants, affecting the ecosystem, and that all plants, especially those referred to as weeds, will become difficult to combat with currently used agents. Moreover, modified species might outcompete and replace the wild ones, which will have a negative impact on biodiversity.

The purpose of creating transgenic animals is, among others, obtaining an answer to the question: under which factors does a given gene become active? Disabling a specific gene enables to determine in which process the products made on the basis of a given gene take part in the cell. Animals are used in many studies on diseases where human experiments are not allowed.

In addition, GM animals may act as bioreactors, i.e. produce human proteins that can be used in medicine. They may appear in milk, blood, and, in the case of birds, eggs of modified organisms. The process of isolating proteins from animal products is no longer a problem. Examples of such animals are goats, whose milk contains human growth factor used to treat human dwarfism, or sheep, whose milk contains the human blood coagulation factor.

Animals, like plants, are modified to have the characteristics desired by humans, among others rapid weight gain, production of meat containing a small amount of fat, production of cow's milk with a high content of casein protein.

In biological studies, model organisms are used very frequently. Usually, they replace the human, who, for ethical reasons, cannot be an object of experimentation. Some examples of model organisms are: E. coli bacteria, mice, fruit flies, chimpanzees, and, among plants, tobacco and rice. Studying them helps, among others, to determine the causes of diseases and the effects of drugs.

The creation of genetically modified animals gives the possibility of xenotransplantation, i.e. the transplantation of cells, tissues or organs between different species. The best model for the production of organs for human transplants are pigs, because their organs resemble the size of human organs (e.g. heart, kidneys, liver).

It is much easier to modify a plant than an animal, because animals, in contrast to plants, are more difficult to be propagated by cloning, more time is needed for breeding, and their reproduction is more difficult.

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) was isolated from a jellyfish living in waters off the coast of North America. Its role in jellyfish has not been explained so far. This protein, stimulated by light of appropriate length, glows green. It does not show any toxic effects on organisms, and the sequence of genes that encode it is well‑understood.

GFP is widely used as a molecule that tests the activity of a particular gene. When a nucleotide sequence encoding a GFP protein is attached to any of the human protein coding sequences, it enables to observe where it is produced. Such a protein combined with GFP, stimulated by light, emits a green light and indicates its location. Genes in the genome are located in a similar way.

Due to the enormous potential of the GFP protein, it has undergone a number of modifications. As a result, glowing proteins of different colours, e.g. yellow, blue, and red, were obtained. This allows for a simultaneous distinction of several genes and the observation of the products of their expression.

• Modified animals can produce drugs and other substances used in medicine.

• Useful substances can be produced in genetically modified plant cells.