History of

Biotechnology
Stages of
Biotech
Ancient
Classical
Modern

Ancient
Biotech
Begins with early
civilization
Developments in
ag and food
production
Few records exist

Ancient
Biotech
Archeologists
research
Ancient carvings
and sketches
sources of
information

Classical
Biotech
Follows

ancient
Makes wide spread
use of methods from
ancient, especially
fermentation
Methods adapted to
industrial production

Classical
Biotech
Produce

large
quantities of food
products and other
materials in short
amount of time
Meet demands of
increasing
population

Classical
Biotech

Many methods
developed through
classical biotech
are widely used
today.

Modern
Biotech

 Manipulation

of
genetic material
within organisms
Based on genetics
and the use of
microscopy,
biochemical
methods, related
sciences and
technologies

Modern
Biotech
Often known as
genetic
engineering
Roots involved the
investigation of
genes

Ancient
Biotech
Not known when
biotech began
exactly
Focused on
having food and
other human
needs

Ancient
Biotech
Useful

plants
brought from the
wild, planted near
caves where people
lived
As food was
available, ability to
store and preserve
emerged

Ancient

Food preservation
most likely came
from unplanned
events such as a
fire or freeze

Domestication
15,000

years ago,
large animals were
hard to capture

 People

only had
meat when they
found a dead animal
Came up with ways
of capturing fish and
small animals

Domestication
Food

supplies often
seasonal
Winter food supplies
may get quite low

 Domestication

is
seen by scientists
as the beginning of
biotech

Domestication

Adaptation of
organisms so they
can be cultured

Most likely began

11,000 12,000
years ago in the
middle east

Domestication
Involved

the
collecting of seed
from useful plants
and growing crude
crops from that seed

 Involved

the
knowledge that the
seed had to properly
mature

Domestication
Proper

planting
Need for water, light
and other conditions
for plant growth

 Earliest

plants likely
grains and other
seeds used for food

Domestication
Raising

animals in
captivity began
about the same time
in history

 Easier

to have an
animal close by that
to hunt and capture
a wild one

Domestication
Learned that
animals need food
and water
Learned about
simple breeding

How to raise
young

Domestication

Cattle, goats and

sheep were the
first domesticated
food animals

Domestication

 About

10,000 years
ago, people had
learned enough
about plants and
animals to grow
their own food
The beginning of
farming.

Food

 Domestication

resulted in food
supplies being
greater in certain
times of the year
Products were
gathered and stored

Food
Some

foods rotted

 Others

changed
form and continued
to be good to eat
Foods stored in a
cool cave did not
spoil as quickly

Food

Foods heated by
fire also did not
spoil as quickly

Immersing in sour
liquids prevented
food decay

Food
preservation

Using processes
that prevent or
slow spoilage

Heating, cooling,
keeps
microorganisms
(mos) from
growing

Food
preservation
Stored

in bags of
leather or jars of clay

 Fermentation

occurs if
certain mos are
present
Creates an acid
condition that slows or
prevents spoilage

Cheese
One

of the first food

products made
through
biotechnology

 Began

some 4,000
years ago
Nomadic tribes in
Asia

Cheese
Strains

of bacteria
were added to milk
Caused acid to form
Resulting in sour
milk

Cheese
Enzyme

called
rennet was added
Rennet comes from
the lining of the
stomachs of calves

Cheese
Rennet

is
genetically
engineered today

 Not

all cheese is
made from
produced rennet

Yeast
Long

used in food
preparation and
preservation
Bread baking

 Yeast

produces a
gas in the dough
causing the dough
to rise

Yeast
Fermented

products

Vinegar
Require

the use of
yeast in at least one
stage of production

Yeast
Species

of fungi
Some are useful
Some may cause
diseases

Vinegar
Ancient

product
used to preserve
food

 Juices

and extracts
from fruits and
grains can be
fermented

Fermentation
Process

in which
yeast enzymes
chemically change
compounds into
alcohol

 In

making vinegar
the first product of
fermentation is
alcohol

Fermentation
Alcohol

is converted to
acetic acid by
additional microbe
activity
Acid gives vinegar a
sour taste

 Vinegar

prevents
growth of some
bacteria

Vinegar
Keeps

foods from
spoiling
Used in pickling

 Biblical

references
to wine indicate the
use of fermentation
some 3,000 years
ago

Fermentation
control
In

ancient times,
likely happened by
accident

 Advancements

occurred in the
1800s and early
1900s

Fermenters
Used

to advance
fermentation
process

 Specially

designed
chamber that
promotes
fermentation

Fermenters
Allowed

better
control, especially
with vinegar

 New

products such
as glycerol, acetone,
and citric acid
resulted

Development
Of

yeasts that were

predictable and
readily available led
to modern baking
industry

Antibiotics

 Use

of fermentation
hastened the
development of
antibiotics
A drug used to
combat bacterial
infections

Antibiotics
Penicillin
Developed

late1920s

in the

 Introduced

in the

1940s
First drug produced
by microbes

Antibiotics
Many

kinds
available today

 Limitations

in their
use keep disease
producing
organisms from
developing immunity
to antibiotics

Antibiotics
Use

antibiotics only
when needed.

 Overuse

may make
the antibiotic
ineffective when
really needed later

Antibiotics
Some

disease
organisms are now
resistant to certain
antibiotics
Used in both human
and vet medicine

Modern Biotech
Deals

with
manipulating genetic
info
Microscopy and
advanced computer
technology are used
In-depth knowledge of
science

Modern Biotech

 Based

on genetics
research from the
mid 1800s

Genetics
Study

of heredity
Most work has
focused on animal
and plant genetics
Genes
determiners of
heredity

Genes
Carry

the genetic

code
Understanding
genetic structure
essential for genetic
engineering

Heredity
How

traits are
passed from parents
to offspring

 Members

of the
same species pass
the characteristics of
that species

Heredity
Differences

exist
within each species.
Differences are
known as variability

Heredity
&variability
Are

used in modern
biotechnology

Modern Biotech
Use

of biotech to
produce new life
forms
Emerged in mid
1900s

 Made

possible by
rDNA technology

rDNA
Recombinant

DNA

Process
Genetic material is
moved from one
organism to another
Materials involved
are quite small

rDNA
Challenging

and
often controversial
Many have
opposing or
negative views of
biotechnolgy

People in
Biotech
Zacharias

Janssen

 Discovered

the
principle of the
compound
microscope in 1590
Dutch eye glass
maker

Anton Van
Leeuwenhoek
Developed

single
lens microscope in
1670s

 First

to observe tiny
organisms and
document
observations

Anton V.L.
Work

led to modern
microscopes
Electron microscope
developed in 1931
by group of German
scientists

Gregor Mendel
Formulated

basic
laws of heredity
during mid 1800s
Austrian Botanist
and monk
Experimented with
peas

Mendel
Studied

inheritance of
seven pairs of traits

 Bred

and crossbred
thousands of plants
Determined that some
traits were dominant
and other recessive

Mendel
Findings

were
published in 1866
Largely ignored for
34 years

Johan Friedrich
Miescher
Swiss

Biologist
Isolated nuclei of
white blood cells in
1869
Led to identification
of nucleic acid by
Walter Flemming

Walter Sutton

 Determined

in 1903
that chromosomes
carried units of
heredity identified by
Mendel
Named genes in
1909 by Wilhelm
Johannsen, Danish
Botanist

Thomas Hunt
Morgan

 Studied

genetics of
fruit flies
Early 1900s
Experimented with
eye color
His work contributed
to the knowledge of
X and Y
chromosomes

Thomas Hunt
Morgan

 Nobel

Peace Prize
in 1933 for research
in gene theory

Ernst Ruska
Build

the first
electron microscope
in 1932
German electrical
engineer
Microscope offered
400X magnification

Alexander
Fleming
Discovered

penicillin

in 1928
First antibiotic drug
used in treating
human disease

 Observed

growth of
molds (Penicillium
genus) in a dish that
also contracted
bacteria

Alexander
Fleming
Bacteria

close to the
molds were dead

 Extracting

and
purifying the molds
took a decade of
research
Penicillin first used
in 1941

Alexander
Fleming

 Penicillin

credited
with saving many
lives during WWII
when wounded
soldiers developed
infections.

Rosalind Elsie
Franklin
Research

in France
and England in mid
1900s

 Led

to discovery of
structure of DNA
Her early research
was used to
produce an atomic
bomb

Rosalind
Franklin
Set

up X ray
diffraction lab

 Photographs

of DNA
showed that it could
have a double helix
structure

Rosalind
Franklin
Some

questions
surround the theft of
her work in 1952
Including x ray
photographs

Watson and
Crick
James

Watson
Francis Crick
Collaborated to
produce the first
model of DNA
structure in 1953

Watson and
Crick

 Described

DNA
dimensions and
spacing of base
pairs
Had major impact
on genetic
engineering carried
out today

Watson
Born

in the US

 Crick

born in
England
Collaborative
research at
Cambridge
University in
England

Norman E.
Borlaug

 Developed

wheat
varieties producing high
yields
Research in Mexico
Semi

dwarf varieties

Developed

wheat variety
that would grow in
climates where other
varieties would not

Borlaug
Nobel

Peace Prize
in 1971

 Credited

with
helping relieve
widespread hunger
in some nations

Mary Clare King

Research

into
nature of DNA
during late 1900s

 Determined

that
99% of human DNA
is identical to
chimpanzee

Mary Clare King

 1975

found similar
gene pools between
humans and
chimpanzee made it
possible to research
hereditary causes of
breast cancer

Ian Wilmut
Cloning

of a sheep
named Dolly in 1997

 Produced

from
tissue of an adult
sheep
Previous cloning
efforts had been
from early embryos

Research
Use

of systematic
methods to answer
questions.

 Problems

may be
basic or applied

Basic
Require

generating
new info to gain
understanding
Applied involve
use of knowledge
already acquired.

Research

 Supplies

facts that
can be used to
improve a process
or product
Settings range from
elaborate labs to
field plots

Field Plot

 Small

area of land
that is used to test
questions or
hypothesis
Belief is that same
result would be
obtained if carried
out on larger scale

Field Plots
Often

times

tested several

 Known

as
replication

Research
Done

by agencies,
universities, private
companies, individuals
Biotech research in ag
is carried out by ag
experiment stations
and large corporations

Development

 Creation

of new
products or methods
based on findings of
research
Carefully studied
before being put into
full scale use

Development
New

products tested
before approval

 Government

agencies
such as the FDA are
involved
Prototype is
developed research
model that is carefully
tested

Prototype
Becomes

a pattern
for the production of
similar products

 After

being fully
tested, full scale
production begins.