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What Biotechnology?
Chapter 1
Introduction to Biotechnology
Using living organisms (or parts thereof) to make or modify products, to improve plants and dtti lt d animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology helps to meet our basic needs. Food, clothing, shelter, health and safety
Biotechnology
Improvements by using science Science helps in production plants, animals and other organisms
Biotechnology
Also used in maintaining a good environment th t d i t that promotes our well being
Biotechnology
Described as being the science of the future that will attract interest of many p p and bring about a big y people g g revolution in the lives of people and show humans how to live an even more comfortable life that is free of stress.
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Is Biotechnology a New Thing?
Not Even Close! Biotechnology began somewhere between 5000 and 10 000 BC H ? bt d 10,000 BC. How? When primitive humans became domesticated enough to begin breeding plants/animals, gathering and processing herbs to make medicines, making bread, yogurt, cheese and beer/wine (yeast)
Biotech Milestones
4000 BC: Dairy farming begins, Egyptians use yeast to make bread and wine. 2000 BC: Egyptians, Sumerians and Egyptians Chinese develop fermentation for brewing and cheese-making. 1500 BC: Acidic cooking techniques lead to sauerkraut and yogurt, 2 examples of using beneficial bacteria to flavor and preserve food.
Biotech Milestones, cont.
1859: Darwin publishes On the origin of species. 1861: Pasteur develops pasteurizationpreserving food by heating to destroy dangerous microbes. 1865: Gregor Mendel describes his famous peas. 1879: William James Beal develops first experimental hybrid corn.
Biotech Milestones, cont.
1910: Thomas Hunt Morgan discovers that genes are located on chromosomes. Gerry Fitzgerald develops and produces Canada s Canadas 1st diptheria antitoxin led to antitoxin, the founding of what is now the worlds largest producer of vaccines. 1921: Discovery of insulin. 1922: Development and use of insulin to treat diabetes.
Biotech Milestones, cont.
1928: F. Griffith discovers transformation (transfer of genes from one strain of bacteria to another) 1928: Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Begins antibiotic era. 1941: A. Jost is first person to coin term genetic engineering while speaking about yeast. 1943: Oswald Avery proves DNA is heritable material.
Biotech Milestones, cont.
1953: Watson and Crick describe structure of DNA. 1960s: Olah Hornykiewicz discovers patients with Parkinson's disease have Parkinson s less dopamine in their brain and develops L-Dopa as a treatment. 1961: Toronto researchers discover hematopoietic stem cell.
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Biotech Milestones, cont.
Early 1970s: Berg, Cohen, and Boyer develop ways of cutting and pasting DNA. Begins Recombinant DNA era. 1975: Scientists organize Asilomar conference to discuss regulating recombinant DNA experiments. 1982: 1st genetically engineered producthuman insulin- produced by expressing protein in bacteria and approved for use in diabetics. 1984: Kary Mullis develops PCR
Kary Mullis:
Biotech Milestones, cont.
1986: 1st release into environment of genetically engineered plant-tobacco 1987: 1st release of genetically engineered microbes into the environment. 1990 Human Genome Project begins 2001: Entire human genome sequenced.
Why care about our DNA sequence?
Just imagine, the genome pj project can tell us the location and code of every human gene Includes both trivial genes like eye and hair color (and hair at all), to the vast array of genes that cause diseases.
What will this do?
As a result of sequencing of the genome, you will see, over the next decade, the most significant biological discoveries in the history of humankind.
What does this give us?
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The Holy Grail of Biology
Understanding the functions of all human genes is one of the great unknown/unsolved mysteries in biology (Vatican meeting).
Unfortunately, not the case
Simply knowing where the genes are located and what their sequence is does not tell us what they do, how they do it, nor explain their involvement in disease.
For example, in 2001, scientists gathered eagerly to hear the results of the sequencing of the human q g genome. To everyones surprise, they found that the genome had only 35,000 genes, not 100,000 like they had thought. Whats all the rest of the DNA?
Scientists naively concluded that anything that wasnt a gene must be junk DNA. j Have now found that this junk is actually just as important as the genes Next big thing is proteome project.
Biotechnology is BIG and Multidisciplinary
Involves many disciplines or branches of learning (essentially all areas of Life Sciences), and in fact, requires collaboration between people in different fields to work well.
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How do all these things come together?
What does Biotechnology give us?
About 65% of Biotech companies manufacture pharmaceutical products. In 1980, Genentech developed first biotech druginsulin- for treating patients with diabetes.
Basic Sciences are the root of all Biotechnology!
How do we make a protein to use for people?
Gene cloning and recombinant protein expression:
What types of Biotechnology are there?
Microbial Biotechnology
Why would anyone care about bacteria and yeast?
This field has led to the creation of better enzymes and organisms for making foods and beverages has led beverages, to great simplification of manufacturing and production processes (making proteins), and has made decontamination and waste product removal far more efficient.
Manipulation of microorganisms like p g yeast and bacteria.
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Environmental
Problems naturally solved by microorganisms such as bacteria, f fungi break down contaminant into a form less harmful or not harmful
Examples:
Bioremediation
Exxon Valdez cleanup
Gold and silver mining
Agricultural/Plant Biotechnology
Genetic engineering of plants to make them disease and insect resistant, drought tolerant, bigger, better tasting, longer lasting, more nutritious, etc. ~$6 billion/year business in US alone.
The application of biotechnology to agriculture is hardly new: Humanity has engaged in agricultural biotechnology for 10,000 years or more. Many traditional farming practices, from plant breeding to animal husbandry, are really forms of biotechnology.
Agriculture/Plants, cont.
But in today's agricultural industry, biotechnology generally means the use of molecular biology, recombinant DNA technology, cloning, and other recent scientific approaches to produce and plants animals with new traits.
Agriculture/Plants, cont.
This usually involves transferring genetic material from one kind of organism into another. Using these techniques, techniques scientists can create crop plants with desirable traits, such as improved flavor or better resistance to insect pests. Transferring specific genes is faster and more efficient than traditional breeding approaches.
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Agriculture, cont.
The United States is home to far more genetically modified crops than anywhere else in the world. In 2005, 52 percent of the country's corn, 79 percent of its cotton, and 87 percent of its soybeans were cultivated from seeds genetically modified to resist viruses and other plant pests.
Many believe agricultural biotechnology is important for improving world health. Genetic modifications may be the only hope for pest-ravaged crops, such as bananas, that are essential to the economies of poor countries. The creation of edible plants that contain medicine (biopharming), serve as a form of vaccination, or deliver extra nutrientssuch as the recently developed rice that makes vitamin Acould also contribute in major ways to global health.
Flavr-Savr Tomato
No soft spots No rotten spots Tomato resists spoilage
Animal Biotechnology
One of the most exciting and rapidly evolving areas of biotechnology. Improve animals or the products they produce
EnviropigTM
Animal Biotech
Animals may be used to produce products that promote human health Animals can be used as huge living bioreactors to produce all kinds of products.
An environmentally friendly breed of pigs that utilizes plant phosphorus efficiently.
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What kinds of products?
Antibodies: protective proteins that recognize foreign materials and help the body to destroy them. Also very useful y y y in the laboratory. Transgenic animals: Can be engineered to produce almost any desired protein and release it in their milk! Example: clotting factors.
What kinds of products, cont.
Knock-out and knock-in animals: great to figure out how genes function and to create disease models for study.
Cloning
Process of producing a new organism from cells g or tissues of existing organism. 1997 cloned sheep Dolly in Edinburgh Scotland
Cloning, cont.
Cloning, cont.
Forensic Biotechnology
What do OJ Simpson, US Army recruits, dinosaur bones, and 60,000 year old fossils have in common? Theyve all been subjected to DNA fingerprinting
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DNA Fingerprinting
A collection of methods for detecting and organisms unique DNA pattern. Can be used to include or exclude a suspect from a crime. Can be accomplished using only a single hair or trace amounts of bodily fluid found at crime seen or left on victims clothing.
DNA Fingerprinting, cont.
DNA Fingerprinting, cont.
Not only for crime; also used to track spread of disease (each virus and bacteria is slightly different). gy ) Also used for paternity testing to prove identity of father (Anna Nicole Smith).
Aquatic Biotechnology
Aquaculture: Raising of fin fish and shell fish in controlled conditions for use as food source. New era with development of transgenic fish engineered to grow bigger and faster.
Aquabounty Salmon
Aquatic Biotechnology
Uniqueness of many aquatic species is also big attraction for biotechnologists. Many species have ability to withstand yp y extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme pressure, and numerous other environmental oddities, so are rich source of novel genes, perhaps leading to new drugs, ex: cancer drugs.
Three Atlantic salmon siblings at the same age. The large Atlantic salmon (bottom) has been genetically engineered to grow four to six times faster than its natural counterparts (top).
Photo source: Aqua Bounty Farms
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Medical Biotechnology
Involved in the full spectrum of human medicine, from preventative medicine to diagnosis to treatment of diseases. Over 325 million people have already been helped by biotechnology drugs and...