Plants, Forest &

Animal
Biotechnology
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

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Plants, Forest & Animal Biotechnology

Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a broad area of biology, involving the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make
products. Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with related scientific fields.

 In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences,
such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of
pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.

 The term biotechnology was first used by Karl Ereky in 1919, meaning the production of products from raw
materials with the aid of living organisms.

 Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical), crop
production and agriculture, non-food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g. biodegradable
plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses.

Application of Biotechnology
 The Various applications of biotechnology are as below

Medicine
 In medicine, modern biotechnology has many applications in areas such as pharmaceutical drug
discoveries and production, pharmacogenomics, and genetic testing (or genetic screening).

 DNA microarray chip - some can do as many as a million blood tests at once

 Pharmacogenomics - It is a combination of pharmacology and genomics is the technology that analyses

how genetic makeup affects an individual's response to drugs.

 The purpose of pharmacogenomics is to develop rational means to optimize drug therapy, with respect to
the patients' genotype, to ensure maximum efficacy with minimal adverse effects.

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Agriculture
 Genetically modified crops are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified with
genetic engineering techniques.

 In most cases, the main aim is to introduce a new trait that does not occur naturally in the species.

 Biotechnology firms can contribute to future food security by improving the nutrition and viability of
urban agriculture.

 Examples in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases, stressful environmental conditions,
resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide), reduction of spoilage, or improving
the nutrient profile of the crop.

 Examples in non-food crops include production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially
useful goods, as well as for bioremediation.

Industrial
 Industrial biotechnology is the application of biotechnology for industrial purposes, including industrial
fermentation.

 It includes the practice of using cells such as microorganisms, or components of cells like enzymes, to
generate industrially useful products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and
pulp, textiles and biofuels.

 In the current decades, significant progress has been made in creating genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) that enhance the diversity of applications and economical viability of industrial biotechnology.

 By using renewable raw materials to produce a variety of chemicals and fuels, industrial biotechnology is
actively advancing towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions and moving away from a petrochemical
-based economy.

Environmental
 The environment can be affected by biotechnologies, both positively and adversely.

 Bioremediation -It is to clean up an oil spill or hazard chemical leak.

 Cleaning up environmental wastes

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 Production of bio-oils with photosynthetic micro-algae.

 Creation of enhanced seeds that resist extreme environmental conditions of arid regions.

Plant Biotechnology
 Plant biotechnology is a set of techniques used to adapt plants for specific needs or opportunities. Plant
biotechnologies that assist in developing new varieties and traits include genetics and genomics, marker-
assisted selection (MAS), and transgenic (genetic engineered) crops.

 Plant biotechnology can reduce a number of undesirable food components, such as one of the
major allergenic proteins in rice or the major allergens in peanut or soybeans.

 Components such as caffeine from coffee beans can be eliminated or reduced to provide a coffee
with no or a very low caffeine level without using chemical extraction

 Plant breeding and biotechnology can be used to improve energy crops to increase yield, improve
tolerance to pests and drought, to alter the characteristics of the plants (e.g. percentage of
lignin, oil content, cell structure) making it more efficient to convert them to liquid biofuels.

 Plant breeding promotes the most essential traits for a bioenergy crop such as high yield of
biomass, but also improvements such as single annual harvest, recycling more nutrients back
into roots before harvest, delayed harvest or disease resistance.

 Many of the breeding and development efforts for bioenergy crops emphasize perennial crops and target
lands that are marginal or less ideal for food or livestock production, such as land that is excessively
wet or dry, acid soils, or highly erodible soils.

Image Source : Sharda University

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Forest Biotechnology
 Besides traditional uses of wood products, cellulose from trees is being used as a feedstock to the
chemical and pharmaceutical industries, currently supplementing, but in the future possibly replacing
fossil fuels. Biomass from trees will be increasingly utilized as a renewable energy source, as well as a
carbon sink to help control global warming.

 Because many species of forest trees have extensive and perennial root systems, and transpire large
amounts of water, they are excellent for use in phytoremediation (i.e. the cleanup of polluted soils).

 Lastly, trees are keystone species in many environments and are necessary for the maintenance of
healthy forests and for restoration of damaged ecosystems. Research into their biology and into ways
to use and enhance the unique qualities of tree species is essential to our future.

 Agroforestry is also a sub-branch of forest biotechnology which can be defined as a land use
management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland.

 Trees also produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood
products, etc.

 This intentional combination of agriculture and forestry has multiple benefits, such as greatly enhanced
yields from staple food crops, enhanced farmer livelihoods from income generation, increased
biodiversity, improved soil structure and health, reduced erosion, and carbon sequestration.

Image Source : Eco-business

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Genetic manipulation and transgenic animals

 Animals that have had their DNA manipulated to possess and express an extra (foreign) gene are known
as transgenic animals. Transgenic rats, rabbits, pigs, sheep, cows and fish have been produced, although
over 95 per cent of all existing transgenic animals are mice. They have numerous utilities.

 Normal physiology and development: Transgenic animals can be specifically designed to allow the
study of how genes are regulated, and how they affect the normal functions of the body and its
development. E.g. study of complex factors involved in growth such as insulin-like growth factors.

 By introducing genes from other species that alter the formation of this factor and studying the
biological effects that result, information is obtained about the biological role of the factor in
the body.

 Study of disease:

 Many transgenic animals are designed to increase our understanding of how genes contribute to
the development of disease.

 These are specially made to serve as models for human diseases so that investigation of new
treatments for diseases is made possible.

 Today transgenic models exist for many human diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis,
rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s.

 Biological products:

 Medicines required to treat certain human diseases can contain biological products, but such
products are often expensive to make.

 Transgenic animals that produce useful biological products can be created by the introduction of
the portion of DNA.

 These DNA codes for a particular product such as human protein (α-1-antitrypsin) used to treat
emphysema.

 Similar attempts are being made for treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU) and cystic fibrosis.

 In 1997, the first transgenic cow, Rosie, produced human protein-enriched milk.

 The milk contained the human alpha-lactalbumin and was nutritionally a more balanced product
for human babies than natural cow-milk.

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 Vaccine safety:

 Transgenic mice are being developed for use in testing the safety of vaccines before they are used
on humans.

 Transgenic mice are being used to test the safety of the polio vaccine.

 If successful and found to be reliable, they could replace the use of monkeys to test the safety of
batches of the vaccine.

 Chemical safety testing:

 The procedure is the same as that used for testing toxicity of drugs.

 Transgenic animals are made that carry genes which make them more sensitive to toxic
substances than non-transgenic animals.

 They are then exposed to the toxic substances and the effects studied.

 Toxicity testing in such animals will allow us to obtain results in less time.

Image Source : Pathways

Genetically engineered hormone and vaccines

 Genetic engineering (recombinant DNA technology) revolution in molecular biology has enabled us to
isolate any genes from any source in a pure form, and to move them from one cell to another. It has
become possible to program bacterial or yeast cells with foreign genes and force the new host to produce
commercially valuable proteins (e.g. hormones, enzymes, diagnostic reagents).
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 It is now also possible to produce viral and bacterial antigens in various types of cells. We hope
that this will soon enable us to manufacture vaccines cheaply.

 The production of a foot-and-mouth-disease virus vaccine, the first promising example of a

genetically engineered effective vaccine--has recently been reported.

 Expression of hepatitis B surface antigen, influenza virus haemagglutinin and polio-virus proteins
from the cloned genes have also been reported, and many more viral genes have been cloned
although not yet expressed in bacteria.

 Despite the extremely rapid development, there are a number of problems, both technical and
immunological, which have to be extensively studied and eventually solved, before we can hope
to obtain effective and safe genetically engineered viral vaccines for clinical use

 All vaccines are genetically modified in a way. A gene may be programmed to produce an
antiviral protein in a bacterial cell.

 Once sealed into the DNA, the bacteria is now effectively re-programmed to replicate this new
antiviral protein.

 Recombinant engineered vaccines are being extensively explored, especially to eradicate

infectious diseases, allergies, and cancers.

 Protocols for genetically engineered vaccines raise issues on their efficacy and overall benefit

 In medicine, genetic engineering has been used to mass-produce insulin, human growth
hormones, follistim (for treating infertility), human albumin, monoclonal antibodies,
antihemophilic factors, vaccines, and many other drugs.

 Vaccination generally involves injecting weak live, killed, or inactivated forms of viruses or their
toxins into the person being immunized.

 Genetically engineered viruses are being developed that can still confer immunity, but lack the
infectious sequences. Mouse hybridomas, cells fused together to create monoclonal antibodies have
been humanised through genetic engineering to create human monoclonal antibodies.

Image Source - MIT News

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Animal Organs for human patient

 Xenotransplantation or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs
from one species to another.

 Such cells, tissues or organs are called xenografts or xenotransplants. It is contrasted with
allotransplantation (from other individual of same species), syngeneic transplantation or
isotransplantation (grafts transplanted between two genetically identical individuals of the
same species) and autotransplantation (from one part of the body to another in the same
person).

 Xenotransplantation of human tumor cells into immunocompromised mice is a research

technique frequently used in pre-clinical oncology research.

 Human xenotransplantation offers a potential treatment for end-stage organ failure, a

significant health problem in parts of the industrialized world.

 It also raises many novel medical, legal and ethical issues.

 A continuing concern is that many animals, such as pigs, have a shorter lifespan than humans,
meaning that their tissues age at a quicker rate.

 Disease transmission (xenozoonosis) and permanent alteration to the genetic code of animals
are also causes for concern. Similarly to objections to animal testing, animal rights activists have
also objected to xenotransplantation on ethical grounds. A few temporarily successful cases of
xenotransplantation are published.

 A worldwide shortage of organs for clinical implantation causes about 20–35% of patients who
need replacement organs to die on the waiting list.

 Certain procedures, some of which are being investigated in early clinical trials, aim to use cells
or tissues from other species to treat life-threatening and debilitating illnesses such as cancer,
diabetes, liver failure and Parkinson's disease. If vitrification can be perfected, it could allow
for long-term storage of xenogeneic cells, tissues and organs so that they would be more readily
available for transplant.

 Xenotransplants could save thousands of patients waiting for donated organs.

 The animal organ, probably from a pig or baboon could be genetically altered with human genes
to trick a patient's immune system into accepting it as a part of its own body.

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 They have re-emerged because of the lack of organs available and the constant battle to keep
immune systems from rejecting allotransplants. Xenotransplants are thus potentially a more
effective alternative.

 Xenotransplantation also is and has been a valuable tool used in research laboratories to study
developmental biology.

 Non-human primates were first considered as a potential organ source for xenotransplantation
to humans.

 Chimpanzees were originally considered the best option since their organs are of similar size, and they
have good blood type compatibility with humans, which makes them potential candidates for xeno
transfusions. However, since chimpanzees are listed as an endangered species, other potential donors
were sought. Baboons are more readily available, but impractical as potential donors. Problems include
their smaller body size, the infrequency of blood group O (the universal donor), their long gestation
period, and their typically small number of offspring. In addition, a major problem with the use of
nonhuman primates is the increased risk of disease transmission, since they are so closely related to
humans.

Image Source :Hackaday

Genetically Modified Insects

 A genetically modified (GM) insect is an insect that has been genetically modified, either through
mutagenesis, or more precise processes of transgenesis, or cisgenesis. Motivations for using GM insects
include biological research purposes and genetic pest management.

 Genetic pest management capitalizes on recent advances in biotechnology and the growing
repertoire of sequenced genomes in order to control pest populations, including insects.

 Insect genomes can be found in genetic databases such as NCBI, and databases more specific to
insects such as FlyBase, VectorBase, and BeetleBase.

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 There is an ongoing initiative started in 2011 to sequence the genomes of 5,000 insects and other
arthropods called the i5k.

 Some Lepidoptera (e.g. monarch butterflies and silkworms) have been genetically modified in
nature by the wasp bracovirus.

 The sterile insect technique (SIT) was developed conceptually in the 1930s and 1940s and first
used in the environment in the 1950s.

 SIT is a control strategy where male insects are sterilized, usually by irradiation, then released to
mate with wild females.

 If enough males are released, the females will mate with mostly sterile males and lay non-viable
eggs. This causes the population of insects to crash (the abundance of insects is extremely
diminished), and in some cases can lead to local eradication. Irradiation is a form of mutagenesis
which causes random mutations in DNA.

 Release of Insects carrying Dominant Lethals (RIDL) is a control strategy using genetically
engineered insects that have (carry) a lethal gene in their genome (an organism's DNA).

 Lethal genes cause death in an organism, and RIDL genes only kill young insects, usually larvae or
pupae.

 The lethal gene is turned off when the RIDL insects are mass reared in an insectary, and turned on
when they are released into the environment.

 RIDL males and females are released to mate with wild males and their offspring die when they reach the
larval or pupal stage because of the lethal gene. This causes the population of insects to crash. This
technique is being developed for some insects and for other insects has been tested in the field. It has
been used in the Grand Cayman Islands, Panama, and Brazil to control the mosquito vector of dengue,
Ae. aegypti.

Image Source - Wired

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