BIOTECHNOLOGY IN

BIOENGINEERING-II
Animal Biotechnology
• One of the most rapidly changing and exciting areas of
biotechnology.
• Animals can be used as “bioreactors” to produce important products.
• For example goats, cattle, sheep, and chickens are being used as
sources of medically valuable proteins such as antibodies—
protective proteins that recognize and help body cells to destroy
foreign materials.
• Antibody treatments are being used to help improve immunity in
patients with immune system disorders.
• Many other human therapeutic proteins produced from animals are
in use, yet most of these proteins are needed in quantities that
exceed hundreds of kilograms.
• To achieve this large-scale production, scientists can
create female transgenic animals that express
therapeutic proteins in their milk.
• Transgenic animals contain genes from another source.
• For instance, human genes for clotting proteins can be
introduced into goats for the production of these
proteins in their milk.
• Animals are also very important in basic research as
model organisms.
• For instance, gene “knockout” experiments, in which one
or more genes are disrupted, can be helpful for learning
about the function of a gene.
• The idea behind a knockout is to disrupt a gene and
then, by looking at what functions are affected in an
animal as a result of the loss of a particular gene,
determine the role and importance of that gene.
• Because many of the genes found in animals (including
mice and rats) are also present in humans, learning
about gene function in animals can lead to a greater
understanding of gene function in humans.
• In 1997, scientists and the general public expressed
surprise, excitement, and reservations about the
announcement that scientists at the Roslin Institute in
Scotland had cloned the now-famous sheep called Dolly
•Dolly was the first mammal created by a cell
nucleus transfer process.
•Many other animals have been cloned since
Dolly.
•In 2009, the FDA approved the first drug (an
anticlotting protein) produced in animals.
•The cloning technology may lead to the cloning
of animals containing genetically engineered
organs that can be transplanted into humans
without fear of tissue rejection.
Animal Products
Bovine Somatotropin
• In the 1930s, it was discovered that injecting bST into milk-producing cows
can significantly increase milk production.
• Using biotechnology, scientists were able to produce a great deal of the
hormone at a much lower cost. First they determined which gene in cattle
controls the production of bST.
• They removed the gene from cattle and inserted it into a bacterium called
Escherichia coli.
• This bacterium acts like a tiny factory and produces large amounts of rbST
(recombinant bovine somatotropin) in controlled laboratory conditions.
• The rbST produced by the bacteria is purified and then injected into cattle.
• Human genes can be transferred to microorganisms or other animals to
make human proteins.
Pharm Animals
• Unfortunately, microorganisms such as bacteria are not able to
produce all human proteins. Some protein drugs require modifications
that only cells of higher organisms like mammals can provide.
Why the Milk?
• Livestock animals are the best subjects for this technology. The current
strategy is to insert the DNA gene for the protein drug into the animal
so that the drug is made only in the milk.
• Since the mammary gland and milk are not involved in the main life
support systems of the animal, there is virtually no danger of disease
or harm to the animal in making the foreign protein drug.
• The drug can then be purified from the milk which can easily be
obtained from the animal.
Forensic Biotechnology
• DNA fingerprinting— a collection of methods for detecting an organism’s
unique DNA pattern—is a primary tool used in forensic biotechnology.
• DNA fingerprinting has many other applications, including use in
paternity cases for pinpointing a child’s father and identifying human
remains.
Bioremediation
• The use of biotechnology to process and degrade a variety of natural and
human-made substances, particularly those that contribute to
environmental pollution.
• Bioremediation is being used to clean up many environmental waste by
stimulating the growth of waste-degrading bacteria, which were already
present in nature, or to genetically engineer bacteria to produce waste
degradeding enzymes
Aquatic Biotechnology (AB)
• Today’s AB applications include the use of genetic engineering to produce
disease-resistant strains of oysters and vaccines against viruses that infect
salmon and other finfish.
• Transgenic salmon have been created that overproduce growth hormone,
leading to extraordinary growth rates over short growing periods and
thus decreasing the time and expense required to grow salmon for
market sale.
• Extreme cold, pressure from living at great depths, high salinity, and other
environmental constraints are hardly a barrier because aquatic organisms
have adapted to their difficult environments.
• As a result, such organisms are thought to be rich and valuable sources of
new genes, proteins, and metabolic processes that may have important
human applications and benefits.
Medical Biotechnology
• Many recombinant proteins are being manufactured for
human medical applications.
• Over 325 million people worldwide have been helped by
drugs and vaccines developed through biotechnology.
• Gene therapy approaches, in which genetic disease
conditions can be treated by inserting normal genes into
a patient or replacing diseased genes with normal genes,
are being pioneered.
• In the near future, these technologies are expected to
become increasingly more common.
• Stem cell technologies are some of the newest, most promising
aspects of medical biotechnology, but they are also among the
most controversial topics in all of science. (ethical concern)
• Stem cells are immature cells that have the potential to
develop and specialize into nerve cells, blood cells, muscle
cells, and virtually any other type of cell in the body.
• Stem cells can be grown in a laboratory and, when treated with
different types of chemicals, can be coaxed to develop into
different types of human tissue that might be used in
transplantation to replace damaged tissue.
• There are many exciting potential applications for stem cells,
but, many complex scientific, ethical, and legal issues surround
their use.
Industrial Biotechnology
• Through biotechnology, micro-organisms or their
enzymes can be adapted to convert biomass into feed
stocks, or they can be used for manufacturing
biodegradable plastics (bioplastics).
• Organisms (micro-organisms, plants and mammals) are
used as bioreactors for producing chemical compounds
that are extracted from them and processed as drugs
and other products.
• Biopulping is a technique whereby a fungus is used to
convert wood chips into pulp for papermaking
• Bioplastics are produced from renewable biomass sources,
such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota.
• Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products and also
from used plastic bottles and other containers using
microorganisms.
• Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics (also called
petrobased polymers), are derived from petroleum or natural
gas.
• Production of such plastics tends to require more fossil
fuels and to produce more greenhouse gases than the
production of biobased polymers (bioplastics).
• Bioplastics can be composed
of starches, cellulose, biopolymers, and a variety of other
natural materials.
• Medical implants made of PLA (polylactic acid), which
dissolve in the body, can save patients a second
operation.
• Biopolymers are available as coatings for paper rather
than the more common petrochemical coatings
• Enzymes are used in heavy metal industry to purify
metals in environmentally friendly way.
Causes for Concern
• Some people are concerned that genetically altering foods could change
their nutritional value by lowering vitamin content or other nutrients.
• Others point out that several genetic engineering projects are designed to
increase, not lower the health attributes of foods.
• There is some concern that the process of inserting genes is not precise.
Scientists can not tell exactly where they go or how many reach their target.
• Supporters of genetic engineering insist that it is more precise than
traditional crossbreeding methods and carries less risk of undesired traits
being transferred.
• Some fear that a foreign gene may not behave in a new crop the way it did
in the original species. It may interact with genes around it or with its new
environment to produce undesirable traits.
• Others point out that traditional plant breeders use well-established practices to
eliminate plants with adverse traits prior to commercial use and that transgenic
plant breeders can do the same.
• Concerns have been raised about the effect of genetically engineered foods on
special populations, such as infants or people suffering from other conditions or
diseases. Testing is done on healthy adults, so effects that might emerge in other
populations could be missed.
• This situation is not unique to genetically engineered foods. It would be very
difficult to test any new product on every specialized population before it is
marketed.
• A reaction might occur between two food compounds that may be harmless
separately, but together could be toxic. There are also concerns that harmless
plants that have toxic relatives may have the toxic gene turned on in a
recombinant plant.
• Genetic changes that can lead to unexpected toxins can occur not only in
genetically transformed plants, but also in plants developed through traditional
breeding practices or as a natural part of growth.
• Some people fear that the genes for resistance which are inserted into plants will
somehow be passed to weeds. Insects may build up resistance to the new pesticide.
• Some think that a gene that is intended to be toxic only for insects will somehow
mutate and become toxic to humans as well.
• Others cite the fact that the potential of pests to develop resistance against defence
mechanisms of crops is well-known and is not unique to genetically engineered plants.
Insects may develop resistance to a crop defence no matter how it was developed.
• There are individuals who see a conflict of interest where a company’s own scientific
data is used to determine food safety. They would like to see a great deal more
independent testing.
• Some companies resent this implication that test results from their own laboratories
are false. They argue that it is to their benefit to produce safe, beneficial food products
because there is no profit in bad products.
• Others fear that new plant species may upset the balance of nature, changing the
delicate relationships between crop plants, weeds, and the animals that consume them.
• Supporters of biotechnology foresee a different day when not one, but many improved
crop varieties could flourish in areas of the world that currently can not produce
enough food crops for the entire population.
• Top Biotechology and pharmaceutical Companies and their income
(Millions/Year/ USD)
• Amgen 14,268
• Genentech/Roche 11,724
• Genzyme 3,187
• UCB 3,169
• Gilead 3,026
• Pharma Companies
• Johnson & Johnson 61,897
• Pfizer 50,009
• Roche 49,051
• GlaxoSmithKline 45,830
• Novartis 44,267
The Business of Biotechnology
• Biotechnology is a global industry with hundreds of products
on the market generating more than $63 billion in worldwide
revenues, including $40 billion in sales of biological drugs (such
as enzymes, antibodies, growth factors, vaccines, and
hormones).
• Over 350 biotechnology products are currently in development
targeting cancers, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s diseases, arthritis, AIDS, and many other diseases.
• North America, Europe, and Japan account for approximately
95 percent of biotechnology companies, but biotechnology
firms are found throughout the world, with over 4,900
companies in 54 countries.
• Countries without a traditional history in research and development (R&D)
worldwide are turning to biotechnology for high-tech innovations.
• For example, biotechnology is a rapidly developing industry in India and
China. Still, many of the world’s leading biotechnology companies remain
located in the United States.
• There are currently around 1,500 biotechnology companies in the United
States, many of which are often closely associated with colleges and
universities or located near major universities where basic science ideas for
biotechnological applications are generated.
• Ultimately, biotechnology companies are looking for people who are
comfortable analyzing complex data and sharing their expertise with others
in team-oriented, problem-solving working environments.
• The biotechnology workforce depends on important contributions from
talented people in many different disciplines of science.