The key difference between genetic engineering and genome editing is that genetic engineering involves introducing foreign genetic material into the genome, while genome editing does not involve introducing foreign genetic material.
With the development of molecular genetic technology, scientists use different techniques to manipulate the genome of different organisms and plants to obtain desired traits. These traits involve in the development of agriculture and in new research findings. Manipulation of the genome takes place in different formats. Genetic engineering and genome editing are two such techniques used in the field of molecular biology with reference to gene technology.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Genetic Engineering
3. What is Genome Editing
4. Similarities – Genetic Engineering and Genome Editing
5. Genetic Engineering vs Genome Editing in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Genetic Engineering vs Genome Editing
What is Genetic Engineering?
Genetic engineering is a technique where artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or RNA take place in order to modify an organism with the desired traits. Genetic engineering involves different areas of applications such as research, agriculture, and biotechnology. In agriculture, genetic engineering provides the platform to obtain different crop varieties with favorable traits. These traits include yields with high nutritional value, disease resistance, drought resistance, pest resistance, increased shelf life, etc.
Figure 01: Genetic Engineering
In the field of research, genetic engineering provides the platform to obtain desirable traits in research studies based on different aspects. Genetic engineering consists of three different techniques: the plasmid method, the vector method, and the biolistic method. Out of the three, the plasmid method is the most commonly used procedure for genetic engineering.
What is Genome Editing?
Genome editing is a technique where the alteration of DNA of plants, bacteria, and animals takes place by DNA insertion, deletion, modification, and replacement. During genome editing, no foreign genetic material is introduced to the genome. Genome editing takes place to change the physical traits of the plant or organism, resulting in different benefits and reducing the risk of infections and other disease conditions. Scientists perform genome editing through different techniques.
Figure 02: Genome Editing
Genome editing is much faster, cheaper, and more efficient. Genome editing allows research scientists to mimic the natural process of DNA repair. The most widely used genome-editing tool is CRISPR/Cas9, and it is a powerful tool for understanding gene function. CRISPR/Cas9 stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. Apart from this, the other genome editing tools include zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and meganucleases. These techniques are advanced methods of genome editing.
What are the Similarities Between Genetic Engineering and Genome Editing?
- Genetic engineering and genome editing are two fields of molecular biology.
- They help in the editing of genetic sequences.
- Both techniques require skilled professionals.
- Moreover, they help to obtain a desirable trait.
- Both genetic engineering and genome editing are done in a molecular laboratory.
What is the Difference Between Genetic Engineering and Genome Editing?
Genetic engineering involves the introduction of foreign genetic material into the genome, while genome editing does not involve the introduction of foreign genetic material. Thus, this is the key difference between genetic engineering and genome editing. Moreover, genetic engineering involves techniques such as the plasmid method, vector method, and biolistic method, while genome editing involves techniques and tools such as Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), meganucleases, and CRISPR/Cas9. Besides, genetic engineering is less efficient in terms of cost and time, while genome editing is faster and cheaper in comparison.
The below infographic presents the differences between genetic engineering and genome editing in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Genetic Engineering vs Genome Editing
Genetic engineering and genome editing are molecular biology techniques. Genetic engineering is a technique where artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or RNA take place in order to modify an organism with the desired traits. Genome editing is a technique where the alteration of DNA of plants, bacteria, and animals takes place by DNA insertion, deletion, modification, and replacement. Genetic engineering involves the introduction of foreign genetic material, while genome editing does not involve the introduction of foreign genetic material. Moreover, genetic engineering involves techniques such as the plasmid method, vector method, and biolistic method, whereas genome editing involves techniques and tools such as Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), meganucleases, and CRISPR/Cas9. So, this summarizes the difference between genetic engineering and genome editing.
Reference:
1. Adnan, Amna. “Genetic Engineering and Its Methods.” Biotech Articles.
2. “Gene Editing – Digital Media Kit.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 5 Nov. 2020.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Duplicazione dei plasmid” By Spaully – (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “MEGANUCLEASE-ZFN-TALEN-CRISPR-text-to-path” By Mazhar Adli – review article: The CRISPR tool kit for genome editing and beyondDOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04252-2 (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia