Hazırlayan

Yrd. Doç. Dr. Suzan BİRAN AY

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 Introduction to Biotechnology- WJ Thieman & MA Palladino

 Biotechnology: An Introduction – SR Barnum
 Bioprocess Engineering – Shuler & F Kargi
 Introduction to Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering – AJ Nair
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 MidTerm Exam 35%

 Project 20%
 Final Exam 45%
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 Introduction to biotechnology
 Biomolecules-Structure and Functions
 Biosystems
 Microbial growth
 Protein synthesis
 Genetic Engineering
 Biotechnological Applications (Presentations)
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What is biotechnology?
• Biotechnology is the culmination of more than 8,000 years of human
experience using living organisms and the process of fermentation to make
useful products.

• Historically, biotechnology evolved as an artisanal skill rather than a science,

exemplified in the use of yeast, a microorganism, to ferment fruit or grains to
produce alcohol and use of other microorganisms to make cheese, yogurt,
pickles, some sausages, etc. (we started using these microorganisms long
before the invention of the microscope, so of course we didn’t know they
were microorganisms.)
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What is biotechnology?
• The term ‘biotechnology’ was used before the twentieth century for
traditional activities such as making dairy products such as cheese and curd, as
well as bread, wine, beer, etc. But none of these could be considered
biotechnology in the modern sense.

• Today biotechnology is applied to manufacturing processes used in health

care, food and agriculture, industrial processes and environmental cleanup,
among other applications.
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Classical vs Modern Biotechnology

• The process of fermentation for the preparation and manufacturing of
products such as alcohol, beer, wine, dairy products, various types of organic
acids such as vinegar, citric acid, amino acids, and vitamins can be called
classical biotechnology or traditional biotechnology.

• Modern biotechnology is similar to classical biotechnology in utilizing living

organisms. It is modern in the sense of using various the techniques for doing
so. These modern techniques, applied mainly to cells and molecules, make it
possible to take advantage of the biological process in a very precise way (e.g.
transfer of a single gene from one organism to another).
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In the technological exploitation and control of biological systems, attempts have

been made to define biotechnology and it has been interpreted in different ways
by different groups of workers. Therefore, there are several definitions for
biotechnology.

However, the following definitions seem to be most appropriate:

• (i) The application of science and engineering in the direct or indirect use of
living organisms, or parts or products of living organisms, in their natural or
modified form.
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• (ii) The integrated use of biochemistry, microbiology and engineering

sciences in order to achieve technological (industrial) application of the
capabilities of the microorganisms, cultured tissue cells and parts thereof
(European Federation of Biotechnology).

• (iii) Biotechnology is the use of living organisms, cells or cellular

components for the production of compounds or precise genetic
improvement of living things for the benefit of man (US National Science
Academy).
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• Even though biotechnology has been in practice for thousands of years, the
technological explosion of the twentieth century, in the various branches of
sciences—physics, chemistry, engineering, computer application, and
information technology—revolutionized the development of life sciences,
which ultimately resulted in the evolution of modern biotechnology.

• Biotechnology is multidisciplinary science, involving integration of advanced

disciplines.
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• Biotechnology as a science is very new (about 200 years old) but as a

technology it is very old.

• The word biotechnology, first used in 1917, refers to a large-scale fermentation

process for the production of various types of industrial chemicals.

• The origin of biotechnology goes back to 6000 B.C, when Sumerians and
Babylonians used processes like fermentation to brew beer, to produce yoghurt
and cheese from milk, vinegar from molasses, learned to practice agriculture
and animal domestication.
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1. Pre-Pasteur Era, before 1865

• In ancient times Chineese, Greeks, Romans, Babylonians and Egiptians
among others have been involved in biotechnology.
 Domesticating animals (sheep, cattle)
 Fermentation to make bread (Saccharomyces cerecisiae- baker’s yeast),
cheese, yoghurt, vinegar, beer & wine
 Selective breeding- to improve crops, organisms with desirable features are
purposely mated to produce offsprings with the same desirable
characteristics
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2. Pasteur Era, 1865-1940

• Pasteur showed that m/o’s are active agents

• Antony van Leewenbook – invention of microscope => m/o visible
• Production of ethanol, butanol, glycerol
• Production of organic acids
• Aerobic sewage treatment
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3. Antibiotic Era, 1940-1960

• 1928-Alexander Flemming discovered mold Penicillium inhibited the

growth of S. aureus (causes skin disease)
• Penicillin and many different antibiotics are produced
• Enzymes are known
• Animal cell culture technology has started => vaccines
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4. Post-Antibiotic Era, 1960-1975

• Many amino acids are produced

• SCP (single cell protein) production
• Enzyme production
• İmmobilization of enzymes/cells
• Production of bacterial polysaccharides (xanthan)
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5. Era of new biotechnology, 1975-

• Development of genetic engineering

• Expression of eukaryotic proteins in prokaryotic systems
• Application of genetic engineering on protein structure=> protein
engineering
• Amino acid sequences revealed
• Structure-function relationships
• Semi-synthetic and synthetic proteins
• Protoplast fusion development
• Biosensors-measuring glucose level in blood
• Computer controlled processes
• bioreactors
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5000 BC Indus and Indo-Aryan civilizations practiced biotechnology to

produce fermented foods and medicines and to keep the environment clean.
4000 BC Egyptians used yeasts to make wine and bread.
1750 BC The Sumerians brewed beer.
250 BC The Greeks used crop rotation to maximize crop fertility.
1500 AD The Aztecs made cake from spirulina.
1663 Robert Hook first described cells.
1675 Microbes were first described by Anton Van Leeuwenhock.
1859 Darwin published his theory of evolution in ‘The Origin of Species.’
1866 Gregor John Mendel published the basic laws of genetics.
1869 DNA was isolated by Friederich Miescher.
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1910 Genes were discovered to be present in chromosomes.

1917 The term ‘biotechnology’ was used to describe fermentation
technology.
1928 The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered by Alexander Flemming.
1941 The term ‘genetic engineering’ was first used.
1944 Hereditary material was identified as DNA.
1953 Watson and Crick proposed the double helix structure of DNA.
1961 Deciphering of genetic code by M.Nirenberg and H.G. Khorana.
1969 The first gene was isolated.
1973 The first genetic engineering experiment was carried out by Walter
Gilbert.
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1976 The first biotech company.

1978 World’s first ‘test-tube baby,’ Louise Brown, was born through in
vitro fertilization.
1981 The first gene was synthesized. The first DNA synthesizer was
developed.
1982 The first genetically engineered drug, human insulin, produced
by bacteria, was manufactured and marketed by a U.S. company.
Production of the first monoclonal antibodies for diagnostics.
1983 The first transgenic plant was created—a petunia plant was
genetically engineered to be resistant to kanamycin, an antibiotic.
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1983 The chromosomal location of the gene responsible for the genetic
disorder, Huntington’s disease, was discovered leading to the
development of genetic screening test.
1985 DNA fingerprinting was first used in a criminal investigation.
1986 The first field tests of genetically-engineered plants (tobacco) were
conducted.
1990 Chymosin, an enzyme used in cheese making, became the first
product of genetic engineering to be introduced into the food
supply.
1990 Human genome project was launched.
1990 The first human gene therapy trial was performed on a
four-year-old girl with an immune disorder.
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1991 The gene implicated in the inherited form of breast cancer was
discovered.
1992 Techniques for testing embryos for inherited diseases were developed.
1994 First commercial approval for transgenic plant by the U.S. government.
1995 First successful xenotransplantation trial was conducted,
transplanting a heart from a genetically-engineered pig into a baboon.
1996 First commercial introduction of a ‘gene chip’ designed to rapidly
detect variances in the HIV virus and select the best drug treatment for patients.
1996 Dolly, the sheep was cloned from a cell of an adult sheep.
1998 Embryonic stem cells were grown successfully, opening new
doors to cell- or tissue-based therapies.
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1999 A U.S. company announced the successful cloning of human

embryonic cells from an adult skin cell.
1999 Chinese scientists cloned a giant panda embryo.
1999 Indian scientists and companies started producing recombinant
vaccines, hormones, and other drugs.
2002 The draft of human genome sequence was published.
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Biotechnology is used in many fields, including:

• Pharmaceutical
• Food and feed industry
• Fermentation technology
• Agriculture
• Environmental and energy industry
• Chemical industry
• Medical diagnosis
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1. Microbial

• Use of yeast for wine & beer-making

• Manipulation of microorganisms for better enzymes and organisms for
making foods, simplifying manufacturing and production processes,
decontamination of industrial wastes
• Genetically engineering microorganisms for production of important
proteins used in human disease treatments (insulin, human growth
hormone etc.)
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2. Agricultural

• Genetically engineered plants

• Pest-resistant
• High-protein or vitamin content
• Drugs developed and grown as plant products (molecular pharming)
• Drought-tolerance, tolerance to cold temperatures, higher yields
• Agricultural waste, grass, cellulose sources used for bioethanol
production
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3. Animal

• Production of anti-bodies (protective proteins that recognize and help

body cells destroy foreign materials) by goats, cattle, sheep and chickens
• Antibody treatments improve immune system disorders
• To achieve high quantity production, scientists create transgenic animals
(female) Express therapeutic proteins in their milk
• İn 1997, scientists in Roslin Institute in Scotland cloned sheep Dolly, first
mammal created by a cell nucleus transfer process
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4. Forensic

• DNA fingerprinting- detecting organism’s unique DNA pattern

• First used in 1987 to convict rapist in England
• Paternity cases
• Identifying human remains
• Tracking and confirming spread of a disease (E.coli, AIDS, meningitis,
tuberculosis etc.)
• Identification of meat mixtures, whether contain species as cats, horses
etc.
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5. Environmental

• Bioremediation- degradation of natural and synthetic substances causing

environmental pollution
• Development and use of oil-degrading bacteria to clean-up oil spills in
soil and coast in Alaska (1989)
• By stimulating the growth of natural oil-degrading bacteria, 3 times faster
cleaning was achieved compared to chemical agents
• Treatment of domestic and industrial sewage
• Recovery of valuable metals – Au, Ag, Co, Ni, Zn, etc.
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6. Aquatic

• Aquaculture- raising shellfish, trout, salmon, catfish (30% of consumed

fish) in controlled conditions for food source
• Use of genetic engineering to produce disease-resistant oysters, vaccines
against viruses infecting fish
• İn oceans, marine bacteria, algae, shellfish, finfish and other organisms
live under harsh conditions (extreme cold, pressure, high salinity), these
creatures are valuable sources of new genes, proteins and metabolic
processes
• Ex: some species of marine plankton and snails are found to be rich
sources of anti-tumor and anti-cancer molecules
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7. Medical

• From preventative medicine to diagnosis of illnesses, to treatment of

human diseases
• Human Genome Project-identifying defective genes causing genetic
disorders such as sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, causes of cancer,
infertility
• Gene therapy- inserting (or replacing) normal genes into a patient
• Stem cell technology- immature cells having potential to develop and
specialize into nerve, muscle cell, etc.
• Grown in lab., when treated with different chemicals, can be forced to
develop into different types of human tissue for transplantation