What is Genetic Engineering?

Genetic engineering is the modification of an organism’s DNA.

This process involves modifying the nucleotide sequence of a gene using genome editing techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR uses a guide RNA to find a specific DNA region.

Then, the Cas9 enzyme cuts the DNA at the specific sequence targeted by the guide RNA. This allows scientists to alter the DNA sequence in different ways.

One type of genetic change is gene knockout, or deletion, in which a targeted gene is disrupted or removed. This prevents the organism from producing a functional protein.

Alternatively, scientists can insert a new gene from another organism into the DNA, allowing the organism to produce a new protein.

For example, a gene from a spider can be inserted into a goat’s DNA, creating a transgenic goat that produces spider silk protein in its milk, which can be purified for biomedical and industrial applications.

Similarly, in gene therapy, a functional gene can be introduced into a patient’s cells to replace a defective gene. This enables the cells to produce a functional protein, which may help treat a genetic disease.