Application of Biotechnology

Application of biotechnology
 Application of biotechnology in
Agriculture
Agriculture biotechnology is the application of
technology to modify genes of animals, plants,
and microorganisms to create new species
which have desired
Production,
Marketing
Nutrition related properties.
Biotechnology includes a wide range of diverse
technologies and they may be applied in each
of the different food and agriculture sectors.
 Application of biotechnology in
Agriculture
Gene technology can be used in agriculture and
food production to
 Increase crop or animal resistance to pests
while reducing the use of chemicals
 Increase crop or animal tolerance to
chemicals that are used to kill harmful pests
 Create disease resistance in crops and animals
 Improve the food yield per plant or animal
 Make plants and animals more suited to
environmental conditions e.g. drier regions or
salty water
 Improve the nutritional quality of the food
produced by the plant or animal.
 Genetically modified crops

Genetically modified crops ("GM

crops", or "biotech crops") are plants
used in agriculture, the DNA of which
has been modified with genetic
engineering techniques. In most
cases the aim is to introduce a new
trait to the plant which does not
occur naturally in the species.
Crop modification techniques
Advantages of Genetically
modified crops
 Genetically modified crops

Various GM crops are being produced all

over the world for many benefits over
traditional crops. Some examples are:
PLANT AND ANIMAL REPRODUCTION

Enhancing plant and animal behavior by

traditional methods like cross-
pollination,grafting, and cross-breeding is
time-consuming. Biotech advance let for
specific changes to be made rapidly, on a
molecular level through
over-expression of genes
removal of genes
the introduction of foreign genes.
The last is possible using gene expression
control mechanism such as specific gene
promoters and transcription factors.
Methods like marker-assisted selection
improve the efficiency of "directed" animal
breeding, without the controversy normally
associated with GMOs
 FLOWERS
There is some simply aesthetic application.
For example the use of gene recognition and
transfer techniques to improve the color,
smell, size, ther features of flowers.
Biotech has been used to make improvement
to other common ornamental plants, in
particular, shrubs and trees.
Some of these changes are similar to those
made to crops, such as enhancing cold
confrontation of a breed of tropical plant, so it
can be grown in northern gardens.
 Fruits
Better flavor
Flavor can be altered by enhancing the activity
of plant enzymes that transform aroma
precursors into flavoring compounds.
Transgenic peppers and melons with improved
flavor are currently in field trials.
Fresher produce
Genetic engineering can result in improved
keeping properties
To make transport of fresh produce easier
Giving consumers access to nutritionally valuable
whole foods
Preventing decay, damage, and loss of nutrients
Pesticide-Resistant and herbicide tolerant crops

Not to be mystified with pest-resistance, these

plants are broadminded of pesticides, allow
farmers to selectively kill nearby weeds with no
harming their crop.
The most well-known example of this is the
Roundup-Ready technology, urbanized by Monsanto.
First introduced in 1998 as GM soybeans, Roundup-
Ready plants are unaffected by the herbicide glyph
sate, which can be applied in copious quantity to
get rid of any other plants in the field.
 NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION
In an attempt to get better human health,
mainly in developing countries, scientists are
creating crops that hold nutrients known to
help fight disease or starvation.
An example of this is Golden Rice, which
contain betacarotene, the forerunner for
Vitamin A manufacture in our bodies. People
who eat the rice create more Vitamin A, and
necessary nutrient lacking in the diets of the
poor in Asian countries.
 Nutrients Intake
One of the most important and innovative
applications of biotechnology is to improve
the nutrient uptake like calcium level in our
food stuff.
Researchers have shown that oligo-fructose, a
naturally occurring, low-digestible
oligosaccharide, increases calcium absorption
by as much as 22%.
Such studies can open the flood gates for new
areas of health application and new classes of
ingredients.
These findings can be used to create new
products in dairy, bakery, confectionery and
drinks.
 Biotechnology in Animal Feed
Biotechnology is used to improve livestock feed
by:
 Improving nutrient content
 Improving the digestibility of low quality
animal feeds
 Increasing production capability
 Eliminating the deficiency of mineral ions or
proteins
 Value added feed
 Low oligosaccharide soybean:
• Soybeans contain oligosaccharides that act as
anti-nutritive factors .
• So less oligosaccharide content means increased
amino acid and dry matter digestibility.
 Soybeans with high Lysine:
• Lysine is essential for animal diet
• 3 to 4.5% increase in lysine
• Reduces the supplementation addition of lysine
Golden rice:
• Reduced allergens in food
• Improved nutritional content
• More quantity and Good quality
• Combats hunger and malnutrition diseases.
 Enzymes
Enzymes are the biological catalyst which when
added to animal feed:
1.Improve the nutrient availability from feed
stuffs
2.Lower feed costs
3.Reduce anti-nutritional effects from some
feed ingredient
EXAMPLE:
Microbial phytase is an enzyme which breaks
down the indigestible phytic acid
In cereals and oilseeds and release digestible
phosphorus.
This reduces the use of expensive supplement
inorganic phosphorus (dicalcium phosphate)
Phyate also releases other minerals like (Ca,
Mg and Zn)
 Application of biotechnology in
Industry
Industrial Biotechnology plays an important role in
 food fermentations
 food additives and processing aids
 food safety through advances in microbial genetics
 detection of pathogens
 mycotoxin detection
 identification of foods and food ingredients.
Industrial Biotechnology targets the selection and
improvement of microorganisms with the
objectives of improving
 process control ,
 yields
 efficiency
 quality,
 safety
 consistency
of bioprocessed products.
 VACCINES
Oral vaccines have been in the works for
much existence as a likely solution to the
increase of disease in developing countries,
where costs are excessive to extensive
vaccination.
Engineered crops, frequently fruits or
vegetables, planned to carry antigenic
proteins from transferable pathogens that
will activate an immune reply when injected.
 ANTIBIOTICS
Plants are used to create antibiotics for both
human and animal use.
An expressing antibiotic protein in stock feed,
fed straight to animals, is less expensive than
traditional antibiotic production.
But this practice raise many bioethics issues,
because the result is widespread, possibly
needless use of antibiotics which may
encourage expansion of antibiotic-resistant
bacterial strain.
 Emulsifiers
Acacia gum is predominantly used as an
emulsifier in the food industry due to its
emulsifying and stabilization properties.
Using new molecular tools, emulsifiers are
now synthesized from covalently coupled
carbohydrates like starch, pectin, sugar and
proteins from wheat, milk and soya bean.
 Allergy Testing
Many people have been found to display
allergic reactions after eating some products
like peanuts.
To combat this problem, it is essential to
identify the cause of this allergy.
For this purpose, a highly sensitive
immunological assay has been developed by a
Netherland based company to detect peanut
proteins in foods.
This is the first assay with commercial
applications.
 Effective Monitoring
Scientists are developing versatile
gastrointestinal models for detailed
monitoring of
digestibility
bioconversion
biodegradability
of foods and drugs and contaminants from the
point of safety and functionality.
These models are now used for studying the
digestive effect of nutraceutical foods.
 Foods from Microbes
While brewing and baking have existed for
ages, we are now using genetically pure
strains in the process.
Studies show that nearly 1.5 million tons of
bakers’ yeast (Saccharomyces cervisiae) is
produced throughout the world every year.
Modern plants have also reduced the time
required in the fermentation process from
months to days.
The fungus Aspergillus oryzae is being used to
produce a wide range of important enzymes.
 BIOFUELS

The agricultural industry plays a big role in

the biofuels industry,
the feedstock's for fermentation
cleansing of bio-oil, bio-diesel and bio-
ethanol.
Genetic engineering and enzyme optimization
technique are being used to develop improved
quality feedstocks for more efficient change
and higher BTU outputs of the resulting fuel
products.
BIOFUELS
BIOFUELS
BIOFUELS