important notes about introduction to biotechnology

1. Introduction to
Biotechnology
Dr. S. Rubanraj
Dept of Mathematics
St. Joseph’s College
Trichy

2. Biotechnology
•Biotechnology helps to meet
our basic needs.
•Food, clothing, shelter, health
and safety

3. Biotechnology
•Improvements by using science
•Science helps in production of plants,
animals and other organisms
•Also used in maintaining a good
environment that promotes our well
being

4. Biotechnology -Definition
One of the broadest definition of
Biotechnology is the one given at the
United Nations Conference on
Biological Diversity in 1992 as “any
technological application that uses
biological systems, living
organisms, or derivatives thereof, to
make or modify products or
processes for specific use.”

5. Some of these include the use of
microorganisms to make the
antibiotic, penicillin or the dairy
product, yoghurt; the use of
microorganisms to produce amino
acids or enzymes are also
examples of biotechnology.

6. Biotechnology
•Using scientific processes to get new
organisms or new products from
organisms.
•Large area
•Includes many approaches and methods
in science and technology

7. Definitions :
• Any technique that uses living organisms or
substances from those organisms to make or
modify a product, to improve plants or animals or
to develop microorganisms for specific uses.

8. What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology = bios (life) + logos (study of or
essence)
Literally ‘the study of tools from living things’
CLASSIC: The word "biotechnology" was first used
in 1917 to describe processes using living
organisms to make a product or run a process,
such as industrial fermentations. (Robert Bud, The
Uses of Life: A History of Biotechnology)
LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans
began to plant their own crops, domesticate
animals, ferment juice into wine, make cheese,
and leaven bread (Acces Excellence)

9. • GENENTECH: Biotechnology is the process of
harnessing 'nature's own' biochemical tools to make
possible new products and processes and provide
solutions to society's ills (G. Kirk Raab, Former
President and CEO of Genentech)
• WEBSTER’S: The aspect of technology concerned
with the application of living organisms to meet the
needs and ends of man.
• WALL STREET: Biotechnology is the application of
genetic engineering and DNA technology to produce
therapeutic and medical diagnostic products and
processes. Biotech companies have one thing in
common - the use of genetic engineering and
manipulation of organisms at a molecular level.

10. What is biotechnology?
• Using scientific methods with organisms
to produce new products or new forms
of organisms
• Any technique that uses living
organisms or substances from those
organisms or substances from those
organisms to make or modify a product,
to improve plants or animals, or to
develop microorganisms for specific
uses

11. What is biotechnology?
• Using scientific methods with organisms
to produce new products or new forms
of organisms
• Any technique that uses living
organisms or substances from those
organisms or substances from those
organisms to make or modify a product,
to improve plants or animals, or to
develop microorganisms for specific
uses

12. What is biotechnology?
• Biotechnology is a multidisciplinarian in nature,
involving input from
• Engineering
• Computer Science
• Cell and Molecular Biology
• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Physiology
• Biochemistry
• Immunology
• Virology
• Recombinant DNA Technology 
Genetic manipulation of bacteria,
viruses, fungi, plants and animals, often
for the development of specific products

13. What are the stages of biotechnology?
• Ancient Biotechnology
• early history as related to food and
shelter, including domestication
• Classical Biotechnology
• built on ancient biotechnology
• fermentation promoted food production
• medicine
• Modern Biotechnology
• manipulates genetic information in
organism
• genetic engineering

14. Agricultural View
• All of the applied science based operations in
producing food, fiber, shelter, and related products
• Milk production
• New horticultural and ornamental plants
• Wildlife, aquaculture, natural resources and
environmental management

15. Multidisciplinary
•Involves many disciplines or
branches of learning
•Includes all areas of Life
Sciences

16. What are the applications of
biotechnology?
• Production of new and improved
crops/foods, industrial chemicals,
pharmaceuticals and livestock
• Diagnostics for detecting genetic diseases
• Gene therapy (e.g. ADA, CF)
• Vaccine development (recombinant
vaccines)
• Environmental restoration
• Protection of endangered species
• Conservation biology
• Bioremediation
• Forensic applications
• Food processing (cheese, beer)

17. Monoclonal
Antibodies
Molecular
Biology
Cell
Culture
Genetic
Engineering
Anti-cancer drugs
Diagnostics
Culture of plants
from single cells
Transfer of new
genes into animal
organisms
Synthesis of
specific DNA
probes
Localisation of
genetic disorders
Tracers
Cloning
Gene therapy
Mass prodn. of
human proteins
Resource bank
for rare human
chemicals
Synthesis
of new
proteins
New
antibiotics
New types of
plants and
animals
New types
of food
DNA
technology
Crime solving
Banks of
DNA, RNA
and proteins
Complete
map of the
human
genome

18. Organismic Biotech
•Working with complete, intact
organisms or their cells
•Organisms are not genetically
changed with artificial means

19. Organismic Biotech
•Help the organism live better or
be more productive
•Goal – improve organisms and
the conditions in which they
grow

20. Organismic Biotech
•Study and use natural genetic
variations
•Cloning is an example of
organismic biotech

21. Cloning
•Process of producing a new
organism from cells or tissues of
existing organism.
•1997 cloned sheep – “Dolly” in
Edinburgh Scotland

22. Molecular Biotech
•Changing the genetic make-up of an
organism
•Altering the structure and parts of cells
•Complex!
•Uses genetic engineering, molecular
mapping and similar processes

23. Genetic Engineering
•Changing the genetic
information in a cell
•Specific trait of one organism
may be isolated,cut, and moved
into the cell of another organism

24. Transgenic
•Results of Gen. Eng. Are said
to be “transgenic”
•Genetic material in an
organism has been altered

25. Biotech examples
Medicine
Agriculture
Environment
Forestry
Food and beverage processing

26. Medicine
Some new developments
delve into the hereditary
material of humans known as
gene therapy

27. Medicine
Therapeutant - product used to
maintain health or prevent disease
Biopharmaceuticals – drug or
vaccine developed through
biotechnology
Called designer drugs

28. Medicine
Biopharming – production of
pharmaceuticals in cultured
organisms
Combination of the agriculture
and pharmaceutical industries

29. Medicine
Certain blood – derived
products needed in human
medicine can be produced in
the milk of goats

30. Environment
Any biotechnological process that
may promote a good environment
Organisms developed during the
gulf war to “eat” oil
Organism used in gold mining to
“eat” contaminants

31. Environmental
Problems naturally solved by
microorganisms such as
bacteria, fungi break down
contaminant into a form less
harmful or not harmful

32. Ag and Forestry
Plant biotech
Animal biotech

33. Plant biotech
Improve plants and the products
produced from them
Insect and disease resistance
Engineered to have desired
characteristics

34. Plant biotech
Corn plant produced with
high levels of the amino acid
Lysine

35. Animal Biotech
Improve animals or the
products they produce
Animals may be used to
produce products that
promote human health

36. Animal Biotech
Increase productivity
Pigs engineered to produce
human hemoglobin

37. Food and Beverages
Use of technology in production and
processing
Some biotech principles have been
employed for hundreds of years (Yeast
in baking bread)
Genetically altered crops
rBGH milk

38. Biotechnology
 Helps meet human needs -Food, clothing and
shelter
 Plants and animals are used in manufacturing
food, clothing and materials for shelter.
 Used to make products more useful or desirable
 Ex: conversion of milk into cheese or yogurt

39. Efficiency
 Must keep the cost of improving products as low
as possible
 Biotech results in greater efficiency.
 Inoculating legume seeds with bacteria that allow
the plant to pull nitrogen out of the air and put it
into the soil - Saves the producer the cost of
applying N fertilizer.
 Results in trees that grow faster and produce
wood that is more desirable.

40. Greater Production
Increases yields
bST use in cows to produce
more milk
Higher crop yields from drought,
disease & insect resistant crops

41. Health Promoting Foods
Food with unique traits
Some contain therapeutants
Some designed with nutrient
enrichment

42. Safety
Consumers want foods to
provide needed nutrients and in
some cases, enhanced foods
Do not want side effects from
those enhanced foods

43. Easy preparation
Flavr-Savr Tomato
Reached the market in early 1990’s
Engineered to have a longer shelf life
Flavr-Savr - No soft spots ; No
rotten spots; Tomato resists spoilage.

44. Synthetic biology
Creating lifelike characteristics through
the use of chemicals
Based on creating structures similar to
those found in living organisms
Need for synthetic cells lead to the
development of the vesicle
Vesicle – tiny rounded structure with
cell like traits

45. Vesicle
Tiny structures similar to soap bubbles
were created to serve as the cell
membrane
Visible only with powerful microscope
Once the cell membrane has been
successfully developed, development
of the materials within the cell is
initiated.

46. Synthetic biology
Is important because it brings
science closer to creating life in
the lab
Cells and tissues may be
developed to treat human injury
and disease