Genetically Engineering Tomato Plants for Harsh Climates

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Genetically engineering tomato plants for harsh climates N. Plantz Observation Wheat has been genetically engineered with the ABI3 gene that produces the hormone, abscisic acid, which allows the wheat crop to survive harsh weather conditions. By genetically modifying a tomato with the ABI3 gene, the tomato plant will also be able to survive extreme weather conditions. The results of this experiment will hopefully result in a positive outcome; the tomato plants that are genetically engin Question Will the ABI3 gene allow tomatoes survive in extreme weather conditions? Hypothesis A tomato plant genetically engineered with the ABI3 gene will survive in extreme weather conditions. Experiment Materials: DNA strand of ABI3 gene. Tomato plant PCR tubes Micro pipettes Cold rack Two oligonucleotide primers Taq DNA polymerase Ligase Nucleotide Buffers Thermocyclers Gene gun Fluorescent marker Fluorescent microscope Clean room, with temperature control capabilities. A clean room is a room that is free from contaminants that may alter the results of an experiment. Sunlamps Gardening pots Water Soil (must be same brand, composition, and amount used) Procedure Replicating ABI3 by use of PCR Obtain a copy of the ABI3 gene Heat in a thermocycler to 95oC to break hydrogen bonds Cool to 60oC to allow the RNA primers to form hydrogen bonds Heat to 72oC where DNA polymerase will add nucleotides complementary to the two strands. This will create multiple copies of the DNA sequence. Inserting the DNA sequence of ABI3 gene into a tomato plant Once enough copies of the ABI3 gene have been created, we will insert the gene into a plasmid. The plasmid is bound to a pellet and attached with a fluorescent marker. The pellet is fired by a gene gun into the plant. We then check the nuclei of the plant cells for the gene with a fluorescent microscope. If

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