 What is Biotechnology ?

Biotechnology :

A science of many disciplines

Roots : The basics science – research into fundamental processes of living organisms at the
biochemical, molecular and genetic levels

Stem : The basic sciences research with help of computer science (bioinformatics) can lead to
genetic engineering approaches

Top: application of genetic engineering can be put to create a product or process to help humans or
our living environment

 Microbial biotechnology
By manipulating microbe :

 Create better enzymes and organisms for making foods

 Simplifying production processes
 Making decontamination processes for industrial waste product removal more efficient.
 Microbes are also used to clone and produce important proteins used in human medicine,
including insulin and growth hormone.

 Agricultural biotechnology Products :

 Genetically modified (GM) plants with characteristics pest-resistant, tolerance to cold
temperature, greater food yields or higher protein/vitamin content.
 Plant can be engineered to produce a wide range of pharmaceutical protein, ex. antibody
monoclonal
 Lower cost than producing recombinant proteins in bacteria, because plants can be grown in
large fields for molecular pharming Ex: production of recombinant protein in transgenic
tobacco leaves.

 Animal biotechnology
 Animals (likes goats, cattle, sheep and chickens) can be used as “bioreactors” to produce
medically valuable proteins, such as antibodies and clotting proteins.
 To achieve large scale production à female transgenic (transferred genes) animals, that
express therapeutics protein in their milk
 In basic research : gene “knock out “ experiment (one or more gene are disrupted for
looking at the function of genes) in animals à understanding similarly genes function in
human
 Similarly, the design and testing of drug and genetics therapy in animals often leads to novel
treatment strategies in humans.

 Forensic biotechnology
 Forensic biotechnology is a powerful tool for law enforcement that can be lead to
inclusion/exclusion of a person from a crime, based on DNA evidence from trace amounts of
tissue, hair, blood or body fluids left behind at a crime scene.
 DNA fingerprinting : a collection methods for detecting an organism’s unique DNA pattern
  Bioremediation
Bioremediation : the use of biotechnology to process and degrade a variety of natural and manmade
substances, particularly those that contribute to enviromental pollution

Many process in bioremediation rely on applications of microbial biotechnology, example :

bacteria that was capable of degradating component in crude oilà more faster, no chemical cleaning
agents

 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska

 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill promoted research into natural oil-degrading organisms and
enzymes

 Aquatic biotechnology
The oldest application : aquaculture, raising of finfish or shellfish in controlled conditions for use as
food sources.

New development: genetic engineering to

 produce disease-resistant strains of oysters and vaccine againts viruses that infect finfish.
 transgenic finfish with extraordinary growth rates over short growing periods
 Bioprospecting: rich and valuable sources of new genes, proteins and metabolic processes
with important applications for human benefits

Marine plankton and snails found to be rich sources of antitumor and anticancer molecules

 Medical biotechnology
Medical biotechnology is the fusion of genetics, cell biology and many other sciences in order to
further advances in medicine.

Medical biotechnology is involved in the whole spectrum human medicine from :

• preventative medicine (ex. vaccine)

• diagnosis of health and illness

• treatment of human diseases conditions (drug and recombinant proteins) to improve human
health