Bacterial Adaptations and Their Application in Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering can help us understand and limit the impact of bacteria, such as E. coli.Copyright 1984 CDC, Public Domain, Wikipedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotechnology_in_pharmaceutical_manufacturing#/media/File:Escherichia_coli_(MCC).jpg
Students explore adaptations by researching how animals, plants, and bacteria change based on their environment. They grow bacterial colonies in various environments and hypothesize how each environment will affect the cell culture size and color. After a day of pre-growth, the culture is spun down in a centrifuge and the cell pellet is analyzed. Finally, students research bacteria adaptations that allow them to survive in extreme environments then brainstorm how the beneficial genes can be useful for genetic engineering of GMOs in the future.
Genetic, biomedical, and biological engineering strives to benefit our world in a variety of way, such as creating crops that can better resist climate change to increasing the amount of light a plant can absorb. Like engineers, students will brainstorm ways to use the genes developed inside bacterial forms that have adapted to specific environments for beneficial purposes.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe various types of adaptations in plants, animals and bacteria that allow them to thrive in their specific environments.
- Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration.
- Give a brief overview of genetic engineering.
- Explain some ways bacterial genes may be beneficial for genetic engineering.