To make a human protein for treating a disease, recombinant DNA technology requires a gene that codes for that specific human protein. Outline the different methods that may be used to obtain a gene coding for a human protein.
Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which blood glucose concentration cannot be regulated. Many people with diabetes mellitus use recombinant human insulin to help regulate their blood glucose concentration. Before recombinant human insulin was available, animals were the main source of insulin. Explain the advantages of using recombinant human insulin to treat diabetes.
Explain why the DNA used in the production of recombinant human insulin is known as recombinant DNA.
Recombinant human insulin analogues are insulin proteins whose amino acid sequences differ slightly from recombinant human insulin. These analogues can be more effective than human insulin. Synthetic genes coding for insulin analogues have been developed. The bacterium Escherichia coli can serve as a host for a synthetic gene for large-scale production of an analogue. Once scientists know which changes are needed to make an insulin analogue, they can obtain a synthetic gene coding for the analogue by altering a length of DNA using genetic engineering. Suggest how scientists genetically engineer a synthetic gene coding for the insulin analogue and explain how the changes they make allow the correct analogue to be produced.