DEFINITION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

• It is a term that was coined by Karl Ereky, a Hungarian engineer, that

refers to the system and methodology of producing result products
from raw materials with the use living organisms.
• In its early stage, the practice is focused on working with the natural
properties of nature.
• The trend changed with the invention of better instruments which
enables better understanding not only of what is observable using the
sense but down to molecular level.
• Knowing the molecular structures of things paved the way to the
attempt of reconstituting the structures by altering it or
introducing new elements to come up with the desired results.
HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Ancient of Biotechnology (before 1800)
• Biotechnology is focused mostly in food preparation and production.
• It relies on the use of living organisms in their natural form.
• The practice is connected to their immediate environment and their occupation.
• Most of the people domesticated wild animals and maintain certain crops and grains as
their source of food.
• From the sources, other food products are produced like bread.
• One of the oldest biotechnical processes is the use of yeast, a living organism
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in food production.
• In the baking of bread, the key ingredient is the yeast.
• It acts as the leavening agent responsible for gassing effect in wheat flour dough and
plays important role in volume, taste, and desired fine honeycomb-like structure of
breadcrumb.
• Since the people did not exactly know what they are dealing with and do not have a
systematic process to produce it, they made a practice of preserving a piece of wet
dough and bury it in a new set of dough.
• At time, they make use of the yeast from the beer that they have brewed.
• There are also other products they produced like cheese, yogurt, beer, and wine.
HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Classical Biotechnology (1800-mid 20th century)
• This period is characterized by the outpour of many scientific studies especially in the
area of medicine.
• Experiments on microorganisms led to the production of medicine and one of which is
the penicillin.
• This drug is the first naturally occurring antibiotic from a mold, Penicillin notatum.
• It was accidentally discovered by Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming in 1928.
• Through this discovery, he perfected the treatment of bacterial infections such as
syphilis, gangrene, and tuberculosis.
• Notably, it is during this time that Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, discovered the
basic laws of heredity and variation using pe plants.
• He found out that genes can be inherited and passed on to the next generation.
• His discovery led to the practice of cross-breeding that enables one to pass on a
desired trait.
• The practical applications is enormous especially in solving certain concerns that
are genetically based.
• For example, a flood-resistant rice plant can be cross-bred with a high yielding
rice plant (it can endure flood waters)
HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Modern Biotechnology (mid 20th century to present)
• The new era of biotechnology is marked by the discovery of the double helix,
twisted-ladder structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953.
• It was discovered by James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and
Rosalind Franklin.
• They found out that genes are made up of DNA that can be isolated,
copied, and manipulated.
• Modern biotechnology generally involves a more advanced modification of
organisms.
• With the development of genetic engineering in the 1970s, research in
biotechnology (and other related areas such medicine, biology, etc)
progressed rapidly because of the new possibility to make changes in
the organism’s genetic material, it’s DNA.
• Using recombinant DNA (rDNA), or DNA that has been isolated from two
or more different organisms is incorporated into a single molecule.
• The resulting organisms are called genetically modified organisms
(GMO).
HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Modern Biotechnology (mid 20th century to present)
• Recombinant DNA technology was first developed in the early 1970s.
• The first product is a human insulin produced outside the human body.
• The genes for human insulin was inserted into Escherichia coli bacteria.
• The bacteria produced the human insulin called Humulin.
• In 1982, the insulin was licensed for human use to treat diabetes.
• In 1994, the first genetically modified foods were made available in the
market with the commercial sale of FlavrSavr delayed-ripening tomato by a
California company Calgane.
• Currently, scientists are working on producing food outside of the hosts like a
cow-free cow’s milk.
• This is producing the dairy without necessarily have to come from a cow.
• On one side, this can be beneficial in meeting the supply needs for dairy
products without having to put pressure on raising cows which produce a
lot of methane gas and demands a wide grazing ground.
• On the other side, the milk is considered as unnatural and artificial which
can have adverse effects on the consumers.
BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES
• The very first product o modern technology to be approved for
commercialization was the Bt corn in 2002.
• Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, the donor organism which is a
naturally occurring soil bacterium.
• It is a genetically modified crop (a maize), genetically engineered to
manifest agriculturally-desirable traits including resistance to pests and
to herbicides.
• Genetically modified food has been consumed by Filipinos every day since it
was first introduced in 1996.
• Hotdog, chees, coffee, fruit juice, eggs, corned beef, and even chocolate
bars-all containing genetically-modified Textured Vegetable Protein or
TVP.
• TVP are made from genetically modified soybeans as a substitute for or
added to meat.
• As of May 2017, the Philippines ranked as the top grower of biotech or
GM crops in SEA and 12th biggest producer globally last 2016, as revealed
by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Application (ISAAA).
SUB-SPECIALTIES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Red Biotechnology
• It is related to the medical and pharmaceutical industries and health
preservation.
• It involves the production of vaccines and antibiotics, discovery of new
drugs, creation of artificial organs, molecular diagnosis of disease,
development of hormones, stem cells, antibodies, siRNA, and diagnostics
tests.
• Emerging technique: Gene therapy
Green Biotechnology
• It devotes to the development of agriculture.
• It involves the creation of more fertile and resistant seeds, plants and
resources by using specialized techniques.
• A famous example is the Roundup-Ready (RR) crops introduced in 1996.
• It helps to get rid of unwanted weed that destroys prized crops like
corn, cotton, soy, and other crops.
• Downside: It nearly eradicated the caterpillar’s sole food source-the
milkweed which led to the declined in the population of the monarch
butterflies in North America for the past 20 years.
SUB-SPECIALTIES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
White Biotechnology
• Industrial biotechnology
• It is based on the application of biocatalysts in industrial processes using living cells
from yeasts, molds, bacteria, plants, and enzymes to synthesize products that are
easily degradable require less energy and create less waste.
• Example: fossil fuel to run motorized vehicles (e.g., Ethanol: it is a biofuel that is
commonly made from biomass source such as corn, potatoes, & sugarcane. It is a
renewable source of energy.

Yellow Biotechnology
• Nutritional biotechnology (it is used in food production)
• Example: Golden rice (a major source of vitamin A) due to the beta carotene it
contains. The shade came from the resulting color of the transgenic grain coming
from Daffodils and a bacterium.

Gray Biotechnology
• It is dedicated to environmental applications and focused on the maintenance of
biodiversity and the removal of pollutants or bioremediation.
• Examples: The strains of bacteria that are considered as oil-eating microbes (OEMs)
like Pseudomonas.
• These are being used as bioremediation agents to clean up oil spills.
SUB-SPECIALTIES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Blue Biotechnology
• It focuses on aquaculture, coastal and marine biotechnology to create products and
applications of industrial interest.
• Algae which are photosynthetic aquatic organisms are being used to create cosmetic
products like perfumes, facial and even body products.
Gold Biotechnology
• It is linked to bioinformatics, computer science categories, and nanotechnology.
• Unknown to many, rapid pregnancy test kit has in it nanotechnology.
• It contains gold nanoparticles seen as the pink line indicating whether as woman is
pregnant or not.
• The gold nanoparticles react to the presence of hormones that comes with the urine
turning it to pink.
Violet Biotechnology
• It is correlated to the legal aspects, moral, and philosophical issues around
biotechnology, publications, inventions, patents, and intellectual property rights (IPRs).
• The first GMO to be patented was an olephilic bacteria in the US in 1980.
• These are normally found in the environment. They feed on the compounds that
make crude oils.
SUB-SPECIALTIES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Dark Biotechnology
• It is associated with bioterrorism or biological weapons and biological warfare which
uses microorganisms and toxins.
• The weapon can cause diseases and death in human, livestock, and crops.
• One example is the bacteria Bacillus anthracis.
• The bacteria is the etiologic agent for anthrax disease, a fatal infectious disease.
• Its spores are microscopic and can linger in the environment for a long time.
• In 2001, its spores were deliberately mailed through the US postal system
infecting 17 people and causing the death of 5.
• The use of biotechnology can also cause danger and a number of ethical, legal, and
social issues.
• One of the most controversial concerns is ownership.
LAWS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY
• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPD) on the Convention on Biological Diversity
was created and enforced on September 11, 2003.
• It is the first international regulatory charter for ensuring the safe transfer, handling and
use of living modified organisms (LMOs) created through modern biotechnology that
may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on
trans-boundary movements.
• It is a legally binding global protocol that seeks to assists developing nations in building
their capacity for managing modern biotechnology.
• Another key protocol is the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the
Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
• It is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the
utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.
• It took effect on October 12, 2014.
CONCLUSION
• There is no evidence that a GE crop is not safe to eat just because it is genetically
modified.
• Although risks are not completely ruled out.
• That is why there should be close and careful study of each new GM crop.
• And the results from these studies must be disclosed to the public even before any GM
food is permitted onto the marker.
• This is for the consumers to have informed choices.
• But even with researches, it is the consumer’s prerogative to consume foods.