Biotechnology

United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity, defines Biotechnology “any technological application
that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or
processes for specific use”.

And “Biological resources” includes genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any
other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity.

Biotechnology deals with techniques of using live organisms or enzymes from organisms to
produce products and processes useful to humans. Often overlaps with fields like molecular
biology, bio-engineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc.

India has become the world’s 12th biggest biotechnology economy having the second highest number of
USFDA-approved plants.

Biotechnology will help developing countries accomplish things that they could never do

Conventional biotechnology is a biotechnology practice conducted by using simple methods and

instruments, without genetic manipulation. It has been done since thousands of years ago to produce
many kinds of products,such as beer, wine, tuak, sake, yogurt, bread, cheese, soy sauce, tempe,tapai, and
oncom.

Modern biotechnology is a biotechnology practice developed with genetic manipulation technique,

in which transfer of genetic material(transfer of gene) from one living organism to the other occurs.
Through this technique, humans can control the production according to his desire. Forexamples, the
production of pest and disease resistant plants, imperishable fruits, and cattle which are able to produce
more milk.
In the genetic manipulation process, organisms whose body containsforeign genes are called transgenic
organisms. They can be transgenic plants,transgenic animals, and transgenic bacteria.

PRINCIPLES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY ;

1.Genetic Engineering: techniques to alter the chemistry of genetic material to introduce into host
organism and thus change the phenotype of organism

(NOTE:The genotype is a set of genes in DNA responsible for unique traits or characteristics while the
phenotype is the physical appearance or characteristic of an organism.)

2.BIOPROCESS Engineering: Maintenance of sterile (microbial contamination-free) ambience in

chemical engineering processes to enable growth of only the desired microbe/eukaryotic cell in large
quantities for the manufacture of biotechnological products like antibiotics, vaccines, enzymes, etc.

Concept

In order to attain a phenotype , desired gene should be sent in to host but this gene can not replicate by
itself.so it must be integrated with recipient DNA to replicate, once it integrates with host or recipient
DNA it will reproduce itself and also transferred to future generation. This replication of identical copies
are also called as cloning.

What is Recombinant DNA?

Recombinant DNA technology is the joining together of DNA molecules from two different species.
The recombinant DNA molecule is inserted into a host organism to produce new genetic combinations that
are of value to science, medicine, agriculture, and industry.

Steps involved in Recombinant DNA

(i) identification of DNA with desirable genes;

(ii) introduction of the identified DNA into the host;

(iii) maintenance of introduced DNA in the host and transfer of the DNA to its progeny.

Recombinant DNA Technology requires various tools like vector, host and enzymes such as restriction
enzymes, ligases, polymerases, etc.

Process involved

1.Cut the desired sequence of DNA through Enzyme called Restriction Enzyme

2.Use another Enzyme called Ligase to join DNA with plasmid(vector which can transfer to host DNA)

3.Plasmid reaches to host DNA ,integrates and then creates multiple copies

Types of Biotechnology
Like the stripes of the rainbow, the different biotechnology applications are grouped into seven colours or
research and development areas. In this section, we highlight the most relevant of each of them.
  Red biotechnology: This is the health branch and responsible, according to the
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), for the development of more than 250 vaccines
and medications such as antibiotics, regenerative therapies and the production of artificial
organs.
 Green biotechnology: It is used by more than 13 million farmers worldwide to fight pests
and nourish crops and strengthen them against microorganisms and extreme weather events,
such as droughts and frosts.
 White biotechnology: The industrial branch works to improve manufacturing processes, the
development of biofuels and other technologies to make industry more efficient and
sustainable.
 Yellow biotechnology: This branch is focused on food production and, for example, it carries
out research to reduce the levels of saturated fats in cooking oils.
 Blue biotechnology: This exploits marine resources to obtain aquaculture, cosmetics and
health care products. In addition, it is the branch most widely used to obtain biofuels from
certain microalgae.
 Grey biotechnology: Its purpose is the conservation and restoration of contaminated natural
ecosystems through, as mentioned above, bioremediation processes.
 Gold biotechnology: Also known as bioinformatics, it is responsible for obtaining, storing,
analysing and separating biological information, especially that related to DNA and amino
acid sequences.

APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN VARIOUS

FIELDS

APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN MEDICINE :

 Biotechnology techniques are used in medicine for diagnosis and treating different diseases. It
gives opportunities for the people to protect themselves from dangerous diseases.
 The field of Biotechnology, genetic engineering has introduced techniques like gene therapy,
recombinant DNA technology and polymerase chain reaction which use genes and DNA
molecules to diagnose diseases and insert new and healthy genes in the body which replace
the damaged cells
 Genetic modification in mosquitoes can solve the problems of epidemic diseases such as
dengue and malaria
 Artificial insemination is the artificial introduction of semen into the reproductive tract of a
female animal. It is used extensively in breeding animals, such as sheep and cattle
  Medical researchers believe that stem cell therapy has the potential to dramatically change the
treatment of human disease. A number of adult stem cell therapies already exist, particularly
bone marrow transplants that are used to treat leukaemia.
 Stem cell transplantation was first used in the treatment of blood disorders and it was a
breakthrough. Conventionally known as bone marrow transplantation, the stem cells
responsible for production of the blood cells reside in the bone marrow

APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE

 Biotechnology has played a major role in agriculture by altering genes, studying and cloning
various crops in order to provide better quality products of foods ultimately improving our
lives.
 Hybrid Seeds, Artificial Seeds, Photosynthesis improver, Stress resistant crops and plants,
Biofertilizers, Bio-pesticides are some of the potential applications.
 Potential advantages that biotechnology can confer across a wide range of agricultural
applications are in areas such as livestock management, storage of agricultural products and
sustaining current crop yields, while reducing the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
 Biotechnology offers a very promising alternative to synthetic foods and an improvement on
conventional plant-breeding technologies. Combined with other advanced agricultural
technologies, it offers an exciting and environmentally responsible way to meet consumer
demand for sustainable agriculture.

APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

 The application of biotechnology in this area, in increasing production efficiency through

manipulation and control of physiological systems and improving the health and well-being of
animals, assumes great significance.
 Embryo transplantation, used with cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep, aims to increase the number
of offspring from a quality female.
 Cloning embryos to artificially produce genetic duplicates of an animal has also become
possible.
 Direct manipulation and alteration of an animal’s genetic material— genetic engineering—has
the potential to produce even more drastic changes in animal breeding. It is believed that
genetically altered pigs may one day be able to provide compatible organs for emergency
transplantation (xenotransplantation) into humans.

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD PROCESSING

 Biotechnology has a major application in the food sector.

  Bread, cheese, wine, beer, yogurt, and vinegar are all made by culturing microorganisms and
are really the oldest products of biotechnology.
 It helps in improving the edibility, texture, and storage of the food; in preventing the attack of
the food, mainly dairy, by the virus like bacteriophage.
 Biotechnologists are also developing tests that will allow the detection of food-contaminating
microorganisms and the toxins they produce, which may be present only in minute quantities.
 Biotechnology also has applications in the detection of mutagens (substances that cause
genetic mutations) in individual food products.
 GM crops which have been approved for use in food items in select countries include corn,
maize, soya, tomato, potato and papaya.
 Latest innovations in biotechnology that fortify major staples with micro nutrients like
vitamin A, zinc and iron can be game changers for hunger problem in India.

APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENT

 Biotechnology can be used to tackle environmental issues like deforestation and air pollution
 Biotechnology can help in finding out the level of Particulate Matter 2.5 in the air
 Biotechnology is already providing a clean and renewable alternative to traditional fossil
fuels, the burning of which contributes to global warming.
 The benefit of environmental biotechnology helps us to avoid the use of hazardous pollutants
and wastes that affect the natural resources and the environment.
 Biosensors, which combine a biological component (such as an enzyme) with various
electronic components to trigger a circuit when a particular type of chemical is detected.
Biosensors are capable of detecting extremely low levels of proteins, hormones, pollutants,
gases, and other molecules.

GENE EDITING
Gene Editing is a type of genetic engineering in which DNA is inserted, deleted, modified or replaced in
the genome of a living organism. Unlike early genetic engineering techniques that randomly insert genetic
material into a host genome, genome editing targets the insertions to site specific locations.

CRISPR is widely considered the most precise, most cost-effective and quickest way to edit genes.

Pros:

 Most uses of genome editing have been in scientific research –for example to investigate
models of human disease.
  Genome editing has the potential to alter any DNA sequence, whether in a bacterium, plant,
animal or human being.
 It is a powerful tool that can reshape the way society deals many issues of healthcare, food
scarcity and the environment.
 Crops and livestock (e.g. increasing yield, introducing resistance to disease and pests,
tolerance of different environmental conditions).
 Industrial biotechnology (e.g. developing ‘third generation’ biofuels and producing chemicals,
materials and pharmaceuticals).
 Biomedicine (e.g. pharmaceutical development, xenotransplantation, gene and cell-based
therapies, control of insect-borne diseases).
 Reproduction (e.g. preventing the inheritance of a disease trait).
 Engineering mosquitoes to control malaria and dengue.
 It can help fight against blood-related disorders such as haemophilia, sickle cell anaemia, and
Beta-Thalassemia.
 All such applications together can drive India’s economic growth over the next decade to new
heights.

Issues with gene-editing

 Balance Risks & Benefits: Due to the possibility of off-target effects (edits in the wrong place
creating properties different from those that were intended) and Mosaicism (when some cells
carry the edit but others do not, leading to presence of two or more populations of cells),
safety is of primary concern.
 Application of the technique to human germline: Until now, all therapeutic interventions in
humans using genome editing have been performed in somatic cells (i.e. only the patient gets
affected, no chance of inheriting the altered genes by the patient’s offspring). Safety concerns
have been raised regarding genome editing in human germline, where unpredictable changes
can be transmitted to following generations.
 Ecological impacts: A ‘gene drive’ can propagate a set of genes with negative traits
throughout a population which may lead to disappearance of the whole targeted population
with severe ecological consequences.
 Difficulty in regulation: The precise genetic modifications obtained through CRISPR Cas9
technique makes it more difficult to identify a genetically modified organism once outside the
lab and also to regulate such organisms in the market.
 At present there is no regulating body to keep a check on the practices and applications of the
technology. It may therefore lead to reduced transparency, low quality and may also increase
the unnecessary delay in the treatment of patients.
 Uncontrolled clinical trials : There are at present no standard norms for standardisation of
norms for clinical trials for checking the efficacy of the treatment.
  Concerns over ‘Designer Babies ’: Engineering human embryos raises the prospect of designer
babies, where embryos are altered for social rather than medical reasons e.g. to increase
height or intelligence.

The debate about gene editing has been going on for a long time now. Gene editing should be encouraged
to enhance the advancements in the field of science and improve the standard of living of people E.g.:
CRISPR technology is targeting to treat the rare disease caused by mutation of one gene. At the same time,
common guidelines need to be developed by international communities which set the guidelines of what
risks are acceptable and what are not.

Suggestions

 India’s current regulatory architecture for approving novel treatments is ambiguous and
assigns overlapping functions to different governmental bodies. This framework needs to be
restructured to optimize trial approval time while addressing safety requirements.
 A two-step model wherein the government works with industry and research groups to
accelerate clinical research is recommended. This model consists of a national apex
committee working in collaboration with existing institutional ethics committees and
independent accreditation agencies.
 It is envisaged that India will emerge as a significant contributor to the world bioinformatics
market and position itself as a global hub for bioinformatics.
 Indian bioinformatics sector has numerous strengths and competitive advantages to make the
bioinformatics sector a sunrise industry of India.
 With the improvements in the IPR regime, increasing support from the government and
continuing efforts of the private sector companies, it is very much likely that India could
repeat its IT success story in bioinformatics too.
 Much research on animal models and isolated human cells should be conducted before any
full-scale routine application in humans.