TKP 3104

ANIMAL AND AQUATIC

BIOTECHNOLOGY
 Animal biotechnology encompasses a broad
range of techniques for the genetic
improvement of domesticated animal
species, including the more controversial
technologies of cloning and genetic
engineering.

 Animal biotechnology is the application of

scientific and engineering principles to the
processing or production of materials by
animals or aquatic species to provide goods
and services.
Major concerns in the animal and aquatic
industries are:

 the increasing loss of genetic diversity,

and
 the need to improve food animal
production

to feed our rapidly growing population.

Biotechnological research aims to increase the
productivity and efficiency of animals and
aquatic species by:

• Increasing the nutrition levels of animal feed

• Genetically modifying animals to be more
productive
• Disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention
• Mapping the genetic profile of particular
animals
• Controlling pest animal species
Major advances have been made through
conventional breeding and selection of
livestock, but significant gains can still be
made by using biotechnology.

Animal agriculture is being transformed by

rapid advances in biotechnology.

Nevertheless, the animal biotechnology

industry faces a variety of scientific,
regulatory, ethical and public acceptance
issues.
A. Animal (livestock) biotechnology

Main focus are:

 the identification and conservation of

threatened animal species and breeds,
and
 the genetic improvement of quality
and productivity of livestock mainly
through the application of molecular
techniques and reproduction
technologies
1. Transgenics

 Transgenic animals are produced by

introducing an isolated DNA fragment into an
embryo so that the resulting animal will
express a desired trait.

 Transgenic livestock
have been generated
with increased growth
rates, enhanced lean
muscle mass, enhanced
resistance to diseases.
 Transgenic poultry, swine, goats, and cattle
have also been produced that generate large
quantities of human proteins in eggs, milk or
blood with the goal of using these products as
human pharmaceuticals.

 Examples of human pharmaceutical proteins

include enzymes, clotting factors, albumin
and antibodies.

 However, the major factor limiting widespread

use of transgenic animals in agricultural
production systems is the relatively inefficient
rate (success rate less than 10 percent) of
production of transgenic animals
2. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

 This is another application of animal

biotechnology to produce multiple copies
of animals that are nearly identical copies
of other animals (genetically superior
animals, or animals that produce high
quantities of milk or have some other
desirable trait)

 This process has

been referred to
as cloning.
The technique involves culturing somatic cells from
an appropriate tissue of the animal to be cloned.

Nuclei from the cultured somatic cells are then

microinjected into an enucleated oocyte obtained
from another individual of the same or a closely
related species.

Through a process that is not yet understood, the

nucleus from the somatic cell is reprogrammed to a
pattern of gene expression suitable for directing
normal development of the embryo.

After further culture and development in vitro, the

embryos are transferred to a recipient female
(surrogate mother) and ultimately will result in the
birth of live offspring.
 Somatic cell nuclear transfer has been used
to clone cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses etc.

 Success rate for propagating animals by

nuclear transfer is often less than 10 percent.

 Depends on many
factors, including the
species, source of the
recipient ova, cell type
of the donor nuclei,
and treatment of donor
cells prior to nuclear
transfer etc.
 Dolly the sheep, was the first mammal ever
cloned or duplicated from an adult cell in
1997.
 Cloning had actually been practiced for a
long time before the appearance of Dolly.
 Splitting or bisecting embryos to make
identical twins, a process in which the cells
of a developing embryo are split in half and
transferred into different recipient mothers,
was introduced into livestock breeding
programs in the 1980s.
 Identical twins are technically clones
Rosie, was the first cloned cow to be
released from the UC Davis Veterinary
Medicine Teaching Hospital in 2002.
3. Vaccines for disease
protection

 Research is undergoing in
Australia to develop a
vaccine for the deadly
strain of the avian
influenza affecting poultry
throughout Asia

 It is hoped that the vaccine will be able to

be adapted for new strains of the virus
should it be required in the future.
4. Gene Knockout

 A technique where researchers inactivate,

or `knock out’ a gene by replacing it or
disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA.

 This is done in order to determine what that

particular gene does, e.g. whether it causes
or protect against some diseases, alter
metabolism,
and so forth.
5. Embryo Transfer

 In embryo transfer (ET), a donor cow of

superior breeding is chemically induced to
superovulate.

 The eggs are then fertilized within the donor,

the embryo develops and is then removed and
implanted in a recipient cow.

 Between removal and implantation, embryos

may be frozen for safekeeping.

 Because of the relatively high costs, ET is

used mostly within registered cowherds.
6. In Vitro Fertilization

 In in vitro fertilization (IVF), unfertilized

eggs (oocytes) are removed from the donor
cow’s ovaries, usually recovering 6-8
useable oocytes.

 The oocytes mature in an incubator and are

fertilized with sperm.

 The resulting zygotes are incubated and

developed in the laboratory before being
placed into a recipient cow. IVF can
produce many fertilized embryos.
B. Aquatic biotechnology

1. Chromosome-set manipulation

 A technique that can be used to produce the

so-called 'triploid' organisms that have
three sets of chromosomes instead of the
usual two.
 Triploids generally cannot reproduce and
so it was initially thought that the energy
that was not channelled into reproduction
would go instead to increasing growth rate,
but this has not in fact proven to be the
case.
 The advantage of triploids seems to be
rather in their functional sterility

For example, triploid oysters do not produce

gonads and are therefore marketable at
time of the year when mature oysters have
an off-taste because of gamete production

('gametes' are sex cells -- the ovum, or egg

in the female and the sperm in the male).
2. Monosex culture
 In aquaculture, one sex is often more
desirable for the market than the other.

For example,
- male tilapias grow faster than the females
- female trout and salmon generally grow
faster than the males.

 The production of single sex groups of fish

takes advantage of this sexual dimorphism
and can be accomplished by manipulation
of the developing gametes and embryo.
 The manipulation can be in the form of DNA
denaturization in the gametes followed by
chromosome-set manipulation or alternatively,
by hormonal sex-reversal and subsequent
breeding.

 Administering appropriate hormones can

change the phenotypic (physical) sex of many
aquatic species. For example, genetically male
tilapias can be turned into 'physical' females
through estrogen treatments.
 These genetic males, that are physically
female, are then mated with normal males
to produce a group of all-male tilapias that
grow faster and have less unwanted matings
than a group of mixed-sex tilapia.
 In mixed sex culture of tilapia, mating at a
small size often leads to overcrowding and
stunting.
3. Hybridization

 Another simple genetic technology that has

become easier with the development of
artificial breeding techniques is the
use of pituitary gland extract and other
hormones to initiate gamete development
and induce spawning (the release of fish
eggs).
 An increased understanding of environmental
cues that influence reproduction, e.g. day
length, temperature or water current has also
played an important part in improving breeding
programmes.

 Fish farmers can now overcome many of the

natural reproductive isolating mechanisms
that species develop in the wild.

 Hybridization can also be used to produce

single sex groups of fish when the sex-
determining mechanisms in the parental lines
are different.
4. Technological improvements

 Improvements in reproductive technologies

have also assisted aquaculturists in their
efforts to domesticate aquatic species.

 By making it possible to remove the natural

constraints and timing of breeding, farmers
are able to mate many more species at the
times that are most beneficial, and thus help
to ensure a steady and consistent supply of
fish to the market.
5. Transgenic technology

 Refers to the production of genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) or transgenic fish

 Gene transfer in fish has usually involved

genes that produce growth hormone and has
been shown to increase growth rate in carp,
catfish, salmon, tilapia, mudloach and trout.

 Also, it is now possible to move genes

between distantly related species; for
instance, a gene that produces an anti-
freeze protein has been transferred from
the winter flounder to strawberries.
 The same anti-freeze gene that was put into
plants was put into salmon in the hope of
extending the farming range of the fish.

 The gene did not produce

enough of the protein to
extend the salmon's
range into colder waters,
but it did allow the salmon
to continue growing
during cold months when
non-transgenic salmon
would not grow.
Animal biotechnology faces a variety of uncertainties,
safety issues and potential risks. Concerns have been
raised regarding:

 the use of unnecessary genes and vectors in constructs

used to generate transgenic animals

 the potential effects of genetically modified animals on

the environment and on the welfare of the animal

 potential human health and food safety concerns for

meat or animal products derived from animal
biotechnology.

Additional research will be needed to determine if the

benefits of animal biotechnology outweigh these potential
risks.
A fibroblast is a type of cell that
synthesizes the extracellular matrix and
collagen, the structural framework
(stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a
critical role in wound healing. Fibroblasts
are the most common cells of connective
tissue in animals