Synthesizing human insulin using recombinant DNA, 3D animation with no audio
Description:
The group at Genentech synthesized the human insulin DNA sequence, which they then inserted into bacteria for insulin production.
(DNAi Location: Manipulation > Production > Pieces of the puzzle > Synthesizing the DNA)
Transcript:
In order to synthesize human insulin using recombinant DNA technology, the human DNA sequence for insulin was needed. The amino acid sequence of human insulin was known. The Genentech group deduced the human DNA sequence of insulin based on its amino acid sequence. They then used the DNA nucleotides and synthesized the human DNA sequence. This sequence was then inserted into a plasmid and transformed into bacteria to produce insulin. By synthesizing the DNA sequence, the Genentech group assembled a human DNA sequence of insulin without ever having to use "real" human DNA. They thus bypassed some of the restrictions on human recombinant DNA work resulting from the Asilomar conference.
Keywords:
recombinant dna work,recombinant dna technology,amino acid sequence of human insulin,human dna sequence,dna nucleotides,dna 3d,asilomar conference,amino acid sequence,pieces of the puzzle,production pieces,dnai,genentech,plasmid,bacteria,manipulation,animation
DNA has four "letters" that must specify the 20 different amino acids that make up proteins. Combinatorially, using three DNA letters for one amino acid makes the most sense.
How was synthetic insulin first made? Although the idea was simple, in practice there were substantial problems. No one had the human DNA sequence for insulin, and there was a moratorium on the production of human recombinant DNA.
Two different strateg
David Goeddel was one of the first scientists Herb Boyer hired for the insulin project. Here, David Goeddel talks about Genentech's general strategy for synthesizing insulin.