Definition of biotechnology:

The root words Biotechnology are ancient Greek 

Bios: "Life"

• Technikos: "skillfully made", "Tool" • Logos: 'Study of", "word", "essence"

Biotechnology – the manipulation or use of biological organism or system to convert

organism materials into products that benefit human like food, medicine and
chemicals.

Traditional biotechnology - refers to the conventional technology which have been

used for many centuries. Beer, Wine, Cheese and many foods have been produced
using traditional biotechnology.

Modern Biotechnology: Capability of science to change the genetic material for

genetic new products for specific requirement through recombinant DNA
technology.

ACTIVITY 1

A. Use this Venn diagram to compare and contrast traditional and modern
biotechnology.

Traditional biotechnology

Modern Biotechnology

There are numerous sub-fields of biotechnology. They are:

1. Red biotechnology is biotechnology applied to medical processes. Some examples

are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic
cures to cure diseases through genomic manipulation.

2. White biotechnology, also known as grey biotechnology, is biotechnology applied

to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to produce a
useful chemical. White biotechnology tends to consume less in resources than
traditional processes when used to produce industrial goods.

3. Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An

example is the designing of an organism to grow under specific environmental
conditions or in the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural chemicals. One
hope is that green biotechnology might produce more environmentally friendly
solutions than traditional industrial agriculture. An example of this is the engineering
of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external
application of pesticides. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this
are ultimately more environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.

4. blue biotechnology has also been used to describe the marine and aquatic
applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.

Historical Perspective

Biotechnology as a science is very new (about 200 years old) but as a technology it is
very old. The word biotechnology, first used in 1917, refers to a large-scale
fermentation process for the production of various types of industrial chemicals. But
the roots of biotechnology can be traced back to pre-historical civilizations, such as
Egyptian and Indus valley civilizations, when man leamed to practice agriculture and
animal domestication. Even before knowing about the existence of microorganisms,
they had leamed to practice biotechnology.

Biotechnology in Prehistoric Times 

Primitive man became domesticated enough to breed plants and animals; gather
and process herbs for medicine; make bread, wine and beer and create many
fermented food products including yogurt, cheese, and various soy products; create
septic systems to deal with digestive and excretory waste products; and to create
vaccines to immunize themselves against diseases. Archeologists keep discovering
earlier examples of the uses of microorganisms by man. Examples of most of these
processes date back to 5000 BC. Ancient Indus people, for example, prepared and
used various types of fermented foods, beverages, and medicines. The ancient
Egyptians and Sumerians used yeast to brew wine and to bake bread as early as 4000
BC. People in Mesopotamia used bacteria to convert wine into vinegar. Many
ancient civilizations exploited tiny organisms that live in the earth by rotating crops
in the field to increase crop yields. The Greeks used crop rotation to maximize crop
yield and also practiced various methods of food preservation such as drying,
smoking, curing, salting, etc. All these techniques and processes were practiced in
the Middle East and South East Asia including ancient India. The Egyptian art of
mummification used the technique of dehydration using a mixture of salts.

Use of Genetic Resources

The ancient people were also aware of the role of natural genetic resources such as
plants in the economic growth of a land. The rulers at those time used to send plant
collectors to gather prized exotic species of plants that produced valuable spices and
medicines. Likewise, in modern times, colonial powers mounted huge plant-
collecting expeditions across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, installing their findings
in botanic gardens. These early 'gene banks' helped the colonial powers to establish
agricultural monocultures around the globe.
Microorganisms and Fermentation

Although baking bread, brewing beer, and making cheese has been going on for
centures, the scientific study of these biochemical processes is less than 200 years
old Clues to understanding fermentation emerged in the seventeenth century when
Dutch experimentalist Anton Van Leeuwenhoek discovered microorganisms using his
microscope. He unraveled the chemical basis of the process of fermentation using
analytical techniques for the estimation of carbon dioxide. Two centuries later, in
1857, a French scientist Louis Pasteur published his first report on lactic acid
formation from sugar by fermentation. He published a detailed report on alcohol
fermentation later in 1860. In this report, he revealed some of the complex
physiological processes that happen during fermentation. He proved that
fermentation is the consequence of anaerobic life and identified three types of
fermentation: Fermentation, which generates gas; Fermentation that results in
alcohol; and Fermentation, which results in acids. At the end of the nineteenth
century, Eduard Buchner observed the formation of ethanol and carbon dioxide
when cell-free extract of yeast was added to an aqueous solution of sugars. Thus, he
proved that cells are not essential for the fermentation process and the components
responsible for the process are dissolved in the extract. He named that substance
'Zymase'. The fermentation process was modified in Germany during World War I to
produce glycerine for making the explosive nitroglycerine. Similarly, military
armament programs discovered new technologies in food and chemical industries,
which helped them win battles in the First World War. For example, they used the
bacteria that converts corn or molasses into acetone for making the explosive
cordite. While biotechnology helped kill soldiers, it also cured them. Sir Alexander
Fleming's discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, proved highly successful in
treating wounded soldiers.

The Genesis of Genetics

In 1906, biotechnology took a leap forward when Gregor John Mendel announced
the findings of his experiments as the 'laws of genetics'. He predicted the presence
of units of heredity' later called genes--which did not change their identity from
generation to generation but only recombined. The science of genetics derived from
the term 'genesis', which relates to the origin of something, tried to explain how
organisms both resemble their parents and differ from them. It was believed that
every gene directly corresponds to a specific trait. By the 1920s, genetics was helping
plant breeders improve their crops. By the 1940s, genetics had transformed the
agriculture sector. which led to the Green Revolution in the 1960s.

DNA and Genetic Engineering The Beginning of Modern Biotechnology

The science of genetics was transformed by the discovery of DNA (deoxyribonucleic

acid), which carries the hereditary information in the cells. The chemical DNA had
already been discovered in 1869 by Friederich Miescher but was not taken seriously
as the chemical basis of genes until the early 1950s. Two scientists, Francis Crick and
James Watson along with Rosalind Franklin, in 1953, discovered that the DNA
structure was a double helix: two strands twisted around each other like a spiral
staircase with bars across like rings. The structure, function, and composition of DNA
are virtually identical in all living organisms-from a blade of grass to an elephant.
What differs and makes each creature unique is the precise ordering of the chemical
base in the DNA molecule. This gave scientists the idea that they might change this
ordering and so modify lifeforms. Marshall Nirenberg and H. Gobind Khorana carried
out the deciphering of the genetic code in 1961. Soon scientists and industrialists
were seeking to alter the genetic make-up of living things by transferring specific
genes from one organism to another. They could now modify lifeforms by altering
the hereditary material at the molecular level. Walter Gilbert carried out the first
recombinant DNA experiments in 1973, and the first hybridomas created in 1975.

The production of monoclonal antibodies for diagnostics was carried out in 1982,
and the first recombinant human therapeutic protein, insulin (humulin), was
produced in 1982. In 1976, the U.S. company Genentech became the first biotech
company to develop technologies to rearrange DNA. Commercial uses of
recombinant-DNA assisted biotechnology include the development of interferon,
insulin, and a number of genetically-modified crop plants such as the high-solids-
processing tomato that has 20% less water. Transgenic animals have been created
such as the unfortunate onco mouse designed to develop cancer ten months after
birth to study cancer.

Importance of Biotechnology

Biotechnology plays vital role in human welfare and has revolutionized mankind
since its existence. It contributes much towards the human's welfare and their
health needs.

Few of them are listed below: 

Biotechnology In Agriculture

The application of biotechnology in agriculture field helps in improving food quality,

quantity, and processing. Bio-fertilizers and Bio-pesticides are eco-friendly sources
for agriculture, which contains the living microorganisms that help in promoting
growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients. Farmers choose
biotech crops to increase the yield and in lower production costs.

Biotechnology in Medicine

In the field of medicines, Biotechnology is widely used in the development of several

innovative techniques for diagnosing, treating and preventing diseases. It helps in
providing effective treatments and prevention measures for different disease by its
inventions of novel drugs and recombinant vaccines. The Therapeutic proteins have
a greater effect against a variety of non-communicable diseases, which was
responsible for over 50-60% of deaths in developing countries. With the help of
modern biotechnology, many diagnostic tools have been introduced for the
detection of diseases in a quick and accurate manner.

Biotechnology in Flora and Fauna

Biotechnology develops the process of micropropagation system, a new method of

plant breeding for producing many new plant species and of new varieties with
highly desirable characteristics. Productions of genetically engineered plants with
highly desirable characteristics have been very effective. These crops result from the
alteration in the genetic makeup of the crops and this modification leads to a
number of potential advantages including the production of crops, quality of crops,
increased nutritional qualities of food crops, improved taste, texture or appearance
of food, reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals and
lot more. Biotechnology has a wide application in animal husbandry. Several
transgenic animals were produced to transfer the growth hormones, improve the
efficiency of egg, meat and milk production.

Biotechnology in Environment 

Biotechnology is also involved in controlling the environmental pollution through

biodegradation of potential pollutants, recycling of wastes and other waste
treatment technologies.

 Biotechnology plays a major role in monitoring and controlling the environmental

pollutions through the biological applications including bioremediation,
biomonitoring, biotreatment and biodegradation of all the solid, liquid and gaseous
wastes. Apart from these, there are many other biotechnological treatments applied
to monitor the different components of the environment.

Biotechnology in human health and their welfare

Biotechnology has been playing a dynamic role in improving the challenges regarding
human health and their welfare. There are many more research and investigation
processes carried out for improving the future technologies.

Biotechnology has played a significant role in improving human health by producing

enriched nutrients food products such as Golden Rice, potato, maize, groundnuts,
and soybean etc.