What is genetic engineering? and any example
In: Biology
Genetic engineering takes many forms. In modern terms it’s the act of using various means to remove and replace certain sequences of DNA in a cell. Typically this is done in young or fetal cells so the inserted trait is present in the whole organism. However humans have been doing genetic engineering for thousands of years through simple selective breeding practices. Selective breeding is just where we take 2 organism with traits we want and breed them so that their offspring will potentially have the traits we want.
For instance corn is a genetically engineered crop. Originally corn was just a breed of grass with slightly larger than normal seeds. Mezo-american people bred the varieties of that grass together to produce more seeds and even larger seeds. Over thousands of years that breeding becomes the modern plant we recognize as corn.
The same goes for every breed of dog. Originally they were all various forms of feral wolf or wolf cousins. Once humans tamed then domesticated them, they began to breed dogs together with traits they wanted. Shorter dogs were bred together to create small dogs to hunt small game in their burrows like terriers. Larger and more protective individuals were bred together to create guardian dogs like Belgian malinois and maremma. Over time the traits they selected for became more and more pronounced.
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