No Wrong Answer: Why are bacteria good factories for making genetically engineered proteins?

Question

There is no right or wrong answer. I just need your opinion.

Answer 1

There are a number of reasons.

One is that bacteria reproduce very quickly. It is quite easy to create mass quantities of genetically identical bacteria in a short period of time. Huge quantities of bacteria can be farmed in large vats easily.

Another is that bacteria have relatively simple genetic structures and are designed to accept new gentic material, such as naturally occurring plasmids. We can modify them easily without unexpected results. It is also very simple to extract the proteins from bacterial cultures.

Also, nobody really cares about experimenting on bacteria. If one were to have some sort of animal producing them, there would issues.

Answer 2

Well, for one thing, it is easy to insert snippets or genetic material into bacterial DNA. It is well know which enzymes can cut a free space for plasmid insertion and "sealing" into place. Also, bacteria grow prolifically: large vats containing these genetically altered bacteria can produce large quantities of the desired compound (example: human insulin, which has benefited so many diabetics since the technique was first released.) Bacteria are not difficult to grow: the right number and type of nutrients and the proper temperature for optimum growth are easily controlled factors.

Answer 3

I'm not a scientist, but I recently read the news about digital codes being put in the DNA of bacteria, and I read that bacteria can live for a very very long time, which made them suitable for this kind of work.

Answer 4

They reproduce quickly