Question

The steps involved in the production of humulin are given. Choose the correct sequence
(i) Synthesis of the gene (DNA) for human insulin artificially
(ii)Culturing recombinant E.coli in bioreactors
(iii)Purification of humulin
(iv)Insertion of the human insulin gene into the plasmid
(v) Introduction of the recombinant plasmid into E.coli
(vi) Extraction of a recombinant gene product from E.coli.

(a) ii,i,iv,iii,v,vi
(b) i,iii,v,vi,ii,iv
(c) i,iv,v,ii,vi,iii
(d) iii,v,ii,i,vi,iv

Answer 1

Hint: Humulin is an alternative to the insulin produced from animals for human treatment as it is more effective and has a less allergic response. These are similar to human insulin although they are produced chemically by genetic engineering.

Complete answer:
Here the correct answer will be i,iv,v,ii,vi,iii
The correct sequence for humulin production is
-1. Synthesis of the gene for human insulin artificially
-2. Insertion of human insulin
-3. Introduction of the recombinant plasmid into E.coli
-4. Culturing recombinant E.coli in bioreactors
-5. Extraction of a recombinant gene product from E.coli
-6. Purification of humulin.

Additional Information:
The first medication produced with the help of modern genetic engineering is humulin and it’s human insulin synthesized in the laboratory where actual human DNA is inserted in a host E.coli cell. It is as effective as human insulin secreted by the pancreas.
The first synthesis was carried out in 1978 by taking two sequences of A and B chains of human insulin and inserting them in the cell of E.coli. Eli Lilly was the first company to market humulin.
There are several methods by which humulin can be obtained. Using genetic engineering is the most popular process of all. In this DNA coding for A and B chains of insulin are synthesized chemically in which A chain is made of 63 nucleotides whereas B is made of 90. Anticodon for methionine is added at the beginning of the sequence and terminator codon is added at the end of each sequence. These DNA sequences are added into the marker gene in the plasmid vector and these are further introduced into the E.coli cell. They produce humulin by replication. Humulin is then purified and obtained from these cells.
Therefore the correct answer is “i,iv,v,ii,vi,iii”.

Note: Structurally, humulin is a proteinaceous hormone just like insulin but it has several benefits over insulin. The normal was extracted from the pancreas of animals by mercilessly slaughtering them, and even after so much effort the quantity produced very low. Also, the insulin extracted from animals was allergic to some persons due to foreign proteins. Therefore, an alternative humulin was introduced. It is quickly absorbed by the person and works effectively without any allergic or autoimmune reactions. Also, it is less expensive than insulin obtained from animals.