Biotechnology and Its Applications
Biotechnology and Its Applications
Biotechnology and Its Applications
12.1 Biotechnological
Applications in
Agriculture Biotechnology, as you would have learnt from the
previous chapter, essentially deals with industrial scale
12.2 Biotechnological production of biopharmaceuticals and biologicals using
Applications in genetically modified microbes, fungi, plants and animals.
Medicine The applications of biotechnology include therapeutics,
12.3 Transgenic Animals diagnostics, genetically modified crops for agriculture,
processed food, bioremediation, waste treatment, and
12.4 Ethical Issues
energy production. Three critical research areas of
biotechnology are:
(i) Providing the best catalyst in the form of improved
organism usually a microbe or pure enzyme.
(ii) Creating optimal conditions through engineering for
a catalyst to act, and
(iii) Downstream processing technologies to purify the
protein/organic compound.
Let us now learn how human beings have used
biotechnology to improve the quality of human life,
especially in the field of food production and health.
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create pores that cause cell swelling and lysis and eventually cause death
of the insect.
Specific Bt toxin genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis and
incorporated into the several crop plants such as cotton (Figure 12.1).
The choice of genes depends upon the crop and the targeted pest, as
most Bt toxins are insect-group specific. The toxin is coded by a gene
cryIAc named cry. There are a number of them, for example, the proteins
encoded by the genes cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms,
that of cryIAb controls corn borer.
(a)
(b)
Figure 12.1 Cotton boll: (a) destroyed by bollworms; (b) a fully mature
cotton boll
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of the nematode. The consequence was that the parasite could not survive
in a transgenic host expressing specific interfering RNA. The transgenic
plant therefore got itself protected from the parasite (Figure 12.2).
(a) (b)
Figure 12.2 Host plant-generated dsRNA triggers protection against nematode infestation:
(a) Roots of a typical control plants; (b) transgenic plant roots 5 days after deliberate
infection of nematode but protected through novel mechanism.
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SUMMARY
Biotechnology has given to humans several useful products by using
microbes, plant, animals and their metabolic machinery. Recombinant
DNA technology has made it possible to engineer microbes, plants
and animals such that they have novel capabilities. Genetically
Modified Organisms have been created by using methods other than
natural methods to transfer one or more genes from one organism to
another, generally using techniques such as recombinant DNA
technology.
GM plants have been useful in increasing crop yields, reduce post-
harvest losses and make crops more tolerant of stresses. There are
several GM crop plants with improved nutritional value of foods and
reduced the reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops).
Recombinant DNA technological processes have made immense
impact in the area of healthcare by enabling mass production of safe
and more effective therapeutics. Since the recombinant therapeutics
are identical to human proteins, they do not induce unwanted
immunological responses and are free from risk of infection as was
observed in case of similar products isolated from non-human sources.
Human insulin is made in bacteria yet its structure is absolutely
identical to that of the natural molecule.
Transgenic animals are also used to understand how genes
contribute to the development of a disease by serving as models for
human diseases, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis
and Alzheimer’s.
Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into an individual’s cells
and tissues to treat diseases especially hereditary diseases. It does
so by replacing a defective mutant allele with a functional one or
gene targeting which involves gene amplification. Viruses that attack
their hosts and introduce their genetic material into the host cell as
part of their replication cycle are used as vectors to transfer healthy
genes or more recently portions of genes.
The current interest in the manipulation of microbes, plants, and
animals has raised serious ethical questions.
EXERCISES
1. Crystals of Bt toxin produced by some bacteria do not kill the bacteria
themselves because –
(a) bacteria are resistant to the toxin
(b) toxin is immature; 215
(c) toxin is inactive;
(d) bacteria encloses toxin in a special sac.
2. What are transgenic bacteria? Illustrate using any one example.
3. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of production
of genetically modified crops.
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4. What are Cry proteins? Name an organism that produce it. How has
man exploited this protein to his benefit?
5. What is gene therapy? Illustrate using the example of adenosine
deaminase (ADA) deficiency.
6. Digrammatically represent the experimental steps in cloning and
expressing an human gene (say the gene for growth hormone) into a
bacterium like E. coli ?
7. Can you suggest a method to remove oil (hydrocarbon) from seeds based
on your understanding of rDNA technology and chemistry of oil?
8. Find out from internet what is golden rice.
9. Does our blood have proteases and nucleases?
10. Consult internet and find out how to make orally active protein
pharmaceutical. What is the major problem to be encountered?
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