G8 – ADV SCIENCE: BIOTECHNOLOGY

QUARTER 2 Lesson 1: Traditional vs Modern Biotechnology

Learning Competency:
1. Differentiate traditional biotechnology from modern biotechnology
Objectives:
1. differentiate traditional from modern biotechnology.
2. explain the advantage and disadvantage of traditional and modern biotechnology; and
3. cite the importance of biotechnology in our daily living

BIOTECHNOLOGY
“Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or
processes for specific use.”

Biotechnology relies on the research & development activities in different areas of science and interaction of interdisciplinary areas.
1. Microbiology – branch of science or biology that deals with microorganism such as bacteria
2. Cell Biology – branch of biology that deals with the study of cells.
3. Genetic Engineering – direct manipulation of organisms genome.
4. Bioprocess Technology – is a specific process that uses complete living cells or their components to obtained desired
product. Example of this processes are food processing and biomedical devices.

TRADITIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Traditional biotechnology is also known as “classical”. According to history, it started Before Christ (BC) era until 1945. It
refers to ancient ways of using organisms to make new products or modify existing ones. The earliest example of biotechnology is the
domestication of plants and animals. Domestication began over 10,000 years ago when our ancestors started keeping plants as a
reliable source of food. Rice, barley and wheat were among the first domesticated plants. Wild animals were tamed to provide milk
or meat or help with ploughing or guarding the farm. The dog, sheep and goat are thought to be among the first animals that were
domesticated. An example of traditional biotechnology is what human beings have been doing for centuries: cloning by cutting plants
little branch from a plant and placed in soil to grow a new plant, food etc. This simply means in traditional biotechnology they
manipulate the organisms physically. Early examples of biotechnology include breeding animals and crops, and using microorganisms
to make cheese, yoghurt, bread, beer, and wine. Based on history Babylonian first used the fermentation process. Some traditional
medicines also used organisms or parts of organisms. For example, the ancient Egyptians used honey for respiratory infections and as
an ointment for wounds. Honey is a natural antibiotic, killing the germs in wounds. Early pioneers of selective breeding mated
organisms with desirable traits to enhance these traits in their offspring.

What are the advantages and disadvantage of traditional biotechnology?

▪ Without traditional biotechnology there won’t be modern biotechnology, it is cheaper and useful.
▪ It is mostly use in food processing; Traditional breeding programs are time-consuming and labor-intensive.
▪ A great deal of effort is required to separate undesirable from desirable traits, and this is not always economically practical.
For example, plants must be back-crossed again and again over many growing seasons to breed out undesirable
characteristics produced by random mixing of genomes in an organism.

MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY 1945-present

Modern biotechnologies involve making useful products from whole organisms or parts of organisms, such as molecules,
cells, tissues, and organs.
Modern biotechnology is also known as “genetic manipulation”. It is a term adopted by international conventions to refer to
biotechnological techniques for the manipulation of genetic material and the fusion of cells beyond normal breeding barriers. The
most obvious example is genetic engineering to create genetically modified or engineered organisms (GMOs/GEOs) through
“transgenic technology” involving the insertion or deletion of genes.
In cloning an animal, scientists take an egg cell and remove the nucleus (which contains the DNA). They take a somatic cell and
insert its DNA into the egg cell. A somatic cell is essential to any cell other than sperm and eggs. Scientists use an electrical current to
fuse the somatic DNA with the egg cell, which then acts as if it was fertilized and begins to divide. The egg can be placed in a surrogate
mother. The mother will give birth to an organism that is identical to the organism from which the somatic cell was taken
A famous fragrance entrepreneur in the Philippines, Joel Cruz, welcomed his third set of twins to his growing family on May
24, 2020. The new Cruz babies were developed using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). And according to the article published by Abante
Tonite, Joel spent more than P12 million for these entire proceedings. This is an example of modern biotechnology.

Applications of Biotechnology
1. Medical
Production of:
• Therapeutant - product used to maintain health or prevent disease
• Biopharmaceuticals – drug or vaccine developed through biotechnology
Development of artificial limb, arms, heart, and medical procedures to perform open-heart operation, dialysis, artificial
insemination, test-tube baby and other medical procedures.
2. Agriculture
• Produce genetically modified plants with diversified properties such as resistance against pest, drought and abiotic stress.
• Produce edible plants with short lifespan or ability to grow in different season.
• Horticulture has used biotechnology tools to produce plants with multiple color, shades, aroma to increase the production
of natural colors and scent.
 • Improve animals or the products they produce
3. Environment
• Cleaning through bioremediation
• Preventing environmental problems
4. Forensic
• Paternity test
• Scientific Investigations
5. Industrial
• Energy production
• New materials

The 2 Major Areas of Biotechnology

1. Organismic - Deals with intact or complete organisms
Ex. Cloning - Process of producing a new organism from cells or tissues of existing organism
Goal – improve organisms and the conditions in which they grow, help organism live better or be more productive

2. Molecular - Altering the structure and parts of cells

a. Genetic Engineering - refers to those techniques used to manipulate an organism's genes
Ex. Recombinant DNA technology is the most common method of genetic engineering.

Recombinant DNA technology – is the process wherein a part of DNA of an organism is snip out from one organism and replace it with
a section from another organism.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Biotechnology

Advantages:
▪ results in trees that grow faster and produce wood that is more desirable
▪ growth and production of fruits and vegetables has enabled scientists to change the way they ripen.
▪ higher crop yields, increase plant's resistance to disease, pests, insecticides, herbicides and even extreme weather
conditions
▪ easy preparation, have a longer shelf life
▪ altered a plant's nutritional makeup, making it richer in certain vitamins or minerals, some contain therapeutants
▪ Research on genetic modification to achieve appropriate weed control can increase farm incomes and reduce the time
women farmers spend weeding, allowing more time for the childcare that is essential in their life.
Disadvantages:
• GM seed is harmless to humans. however, some scientists have found that GM plants have indeed altered the life span,
disease process and cognitive abilities of insects that feed on these plants.
• Transformations of wild species. Exposure of wild species to genetically modified crops or domestic livestock could cause
"super species" to evolve with resistance to pesticides, herbicides
• Loss of biodiversity.
G8 – ADV SCIENCE: BIOTECHNOLOGY
QUARTER 2 Lesson 1: Traditional vs Modern Biotechnology
Activity Sheet

Name: Grade/Section: Date Submitted:

Activity 1: HUNTING SYNONYMS
Part I: Read the clues in each number that would describe the word in the box below, use the clustered letters to complete the missing
word. Write the letters on each blank. Take note that not all letters will be used.
TRADITIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY
1. 6.

2. 7.

3. 8.

4.
9.

5.
10.

Part II: Summarize it

Write the words that come out on the activity in part 1 that would describe the words traditional and modern.
TRADITIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Activity 2: COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Complete the Venn diagram by filling in the differences and similarities of traditional and modern biotechnology. Use the word/s in the box to
complete the activity.
Also known as classical Transgenic Labor intensive
Ancient Genetic Manipulation Artificial insemination
Genetically modified organisms Cloning or by cutting plants Use organisms to help humans
Food fermentation Cheaper Insertion of genes
Fusion of cells Increase yields/production Deletion of genes
Time consuming Benefited humans Removal of nucleus
Use microorganisms to make cheese Physically manipulated Benefit more the poor or developing countries

TRADITIONAL MODERN
Similarities
BIOTECHNOLOGY BIOTECHNOLOGY
G8 – ADV SCIENCE: BIOTECHNOLOGY
QUARTER 2 Lesson 1: Traditional vs Modern Biotechnology
Activity Sheet

Name: Grade/Section: Date Submitted:

Activity 3: CREATE IT
Create a poster slogan showing the importance of biotechnology on your daily living.
Criteria:
▪ Content 10pts
▪ Creativity 10pts
▪ Originality 5pts
▪ Neatness 5 pts

OUTPUT