Basic Principle of Genetic Engineering

    The basic principle of genetic engineering technology is to manipulate changes in the composition of DNA nucleic acids or to insert new genes into the DNA structure of the recipient living creature. There are three basic principles in genetic engineering, namely recombinant DNA, protoplasmic fusion, and tissue culture.

1. Recombinant DNA

    Recombinant DNA technology involves bacteria or viruses as vectors (intermediaries). The process of recombinant DNA through 3 stages. The first stage is isolating DNA, the second stage is cutting and splicing DNA (gene/DNA transplantation), and the third stage is inserting DNA into living cells. DNA isolation is carried out to select and separate the desired DNA and genes. This isolation is carried out by extracting the chromosomes from the donor organism. The DNA in the selected chromosome must be cut first. Genes are cut in one DNA strand using restriction endonuclease enzymes which act as biological scissors.

2. Protoplasm Fusion

  Protoplasmic fusion is an event, namely the joining of two or more protoplasts either naturally/spontaneously or intentionally or in the presence of an agent that can induce fusion. Protoplast fusion can also be defined as an attempt to combine the protoplasm of two different types of cells derived from higher plants for a specific purpose (Nurhasanah & Sunaryo, 2019). Protoplast fusion is a method of crossing or hybridizing plants by utilizing conventional genetic engineering. Protoplast is a plant cell without a cell wall. Protoplast fusion techniques can be used to mix genetic traits from the same plant species or from different species. The basic principle of protoplasmic fusion is to remove the walls from the two cells and then combine the contents of the two cells in an electric field.

3. Tissue Culture

Tissue culture is a method for separating/isolating plant parts such as cells, tissues or organs (leaves, roots, stems, shoots and so on) and cultivating them in a controlled environment [in vitro] and aseptically so that these plant parts can reproduce themselves/ regenerate into a complete plant

 

References:

Mahrus. 2014. Kontroversi Produk Rekayasa Genetika Yang Dikonsumsi Masyarakat. Jurnal Biologi Tropis. Vol. 14 No. 2: 108-119

Nurhasanah & Sunaryo, Widi. 2019. Fusi Protoplas. Bogor: IPB Press