Download THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

THE IMPORTANCE
OF
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Melaine Randle, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD. Candidate
The Biotechnology Centre
What Is Biotechnology?
Manipulation of living organisms, systems to
develop products.
 Term coined by Hungarian engineer Karl
Ereky in 1919.
 Field integrates knowledge from biochemistry,
chemistry, microbiology and chemical
engineering.
 Includes genomics, recombinant gene
technologies, applied immunology and
development of pharmaceutical, diagnostic
tests.

History

Used in agriculture, food production and
medicine for thousands of years.

Bred productive animals to make stronger and
more productive offsprings.

Fermentation: yeast cells to raise bread dough,
ferment alcoholic beverages.

Microbial cultures; bacterial cells used to make
cheeses and yogurts.
History
Weizmann (1917), C. acetobutylicum
explosives (WWI).
corn starch acetone
Clostridium
acetobutylicum
Antibiotics: Penicillium notatum (Alexander Flemming, 1928).
Penicillin (Florey, Chain, Heatley). Medicinal use (1940).
Penicillium notatum
Applications
 Medical
◦ Drug production (eg. Insulin, antibiotics)
◦ Pharmacogenomics (genetic inheritance
and response to drugs)
◦ Gene Therapy (replace defective genes)
◦ Genetic testing for diseases eg. Down’s
Syndrome, Amniocentesis and Chorionic
Villus sampling.
Applications
 Chemical Industry
◦ Production of bulk chemicals eg. Ethanol,
citric acid, acetone, butanol
◦ Synthesis of enzymes, amino acids, alkaloids
 Food Industry
◦ Production of baker’s yeast, cheese, yogurt,
soy sauce, flavours, colouring agents
◦ Brewing and wine making
Applications
 Agriculture
◦ Crop yield
◦ Reduce vulnerability of crops to environmetal
stresses
◦ Increased nutritional qualities
◦ Improved taste, texture or appearance of food
◦ Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides
◦ Production of novel substances in crops
◦ Animal Biotechnology
Applications
 Environment
◦ Bioremediation of soil and water
polluted with chemicals
◦ Treatment of sewage and other
organic waste
◦ Recovery of heavy metals from
industrial sources
Biotechnology Techniques
 DNA Isolation
 DNA Amplification
 DNA Cloning
 Restriction
Enzyme Digestion
 Gel Electrophoresis
 DNA Sequencing
DNA Isolation
DNA Amplification

Polymerase Chain Reaction
◦ Kary Mullis (1986)
◦ Creates millions of copies of specific DNA
sequence synthetically via thermal cycler
◦ Materials needed:





DNA template
dNTPs (dinucleotide triphosphates)
Taq DNA Polymearse
Primers
Reaction buffer (+ sterile water)
PCR Steps
(a)Denaturation
(b)Annealing
(c)Extension
DNA Cloning
Restriction Enzyme Digestion
• Restriction enzymes
•Short nucleotide sequences
(4-8 bp)
•Recognize and cleave DNA
at specific sites
Gel Electrophoresis
• Separation and size determination of DNA fragments
• Gel (agarose / polyacrylamide) in buffer
• Electrical voltage
• DNA moves from – electrode to + electrode
Gel Electrophoresis
DNA on gel visualized under
UV exposure after ethidium
bromide staining (carcinogenic)
DNA Fragments on Agarose Gel
DNA Sequencing
Dideoxy chain termination method
(Sanger, 1975); Maxam and Gilbert
Chemical Cleavage method
 Currently – automated sequencing

◦ Array of nucleoide bases in a sequence of
DNA
DNA Sequencing
• Theory similar to Sanger Sequencing
• 4 different dNTPs tagged with 4 different
fluorescent dyes in single tube
• All 4 tagged dNTPs electrophoresed on
a gel in one lane
• Fragments still separate by size but show
as coloured bands
• Colours have different wavelengths read
by computer
• Computer translates colours into order of
nucleotides
Automated Sequencing
Chromatogram / spectrograph
Controversial Biotech Advances

Flavr savr tomato (Calgene) approved for
commercial sale (1994)
Flavr Savr Tomatoes
Controversial Biotech Advances

Cloning of Dolly, the sheep (1996)
◦ First mammal cloned from adult somatic cells
Dolly
Controversial Biotech Advances

Embryonic Stem Cells Grown (James
Thomson,1998)
Human Stem Cell Culture
Controversial Biotech Advances

Human genome project (2000)
◦ Map 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA
(2003)
◦ Potential benefits - better understanding of
human evolution, how to better treat diseases
Biotech Concerns
Harm to Environment – effect of GMOs
on ecosystem
 Bioterrorism- terrorists create new
Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins,
which are incurable
 Lab or production safety – concern for lab
techs when working with organisms of
unknown virulence.
 Ethical issues – is cloning sacrilegious?

Biotech Earnings
Several Biotech companies worldwide
 Earnings exceed USD billions annually.
 B$10 in 3rd quarter 2005 for just 25
biotech companies
 Monsanto earned B$8.3 in 2008
 US AgBiotech earned M$107.5 (1993),
earned B$10 (2000)
 AgBiotech earned B$100 (2010)
 Herbal Biotech B$8

Biotechnology in Jamaica
 Biotechnology
Centre (University of
the West Indies)
 Scientific
 Coconut
Research Council
Industry Board
The Biotechnology Centre - UWI

Established in 1989

Develop the research capabilities and
training programmes in biotechnology
(post-graduate students)
BTC – Current Projects

Plant tissue culture
◦ indigenous medicinal plant bank
◦ Production of disease-free yam (Dioscorea sp)
plantlets
◦ Improvements in micro-propagation methods
BTC- Projects

Plant genetic transformation
◦ Resistance to Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV)
Production of papaya for human consumption,
either fresh or processed Cornell University,
USA & UWI, Jamaica
Papaya
BTC- Projects

Plant Genetic Transformation
◦ Resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus
(TYLCV-Is) Production of tomatoes for
human consumption, either fresh or processed
UW-Madison, Hebrew Univ., UWI
TYLCV
BTC - Projects

Plant molecular virology
◦ Molecular diagnostics based on the
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique
had been developed for detecting
geminiviruses, lethal yellowing (LY)
phytoplasma, and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV)
Career Possibilities
Biotechnology companies
 Major drug companies (biotechnology
divisions).
 Chemical companies with large
agricultural chemical businesses also have
substantial biotechnology labs

◦ Researcher; Chemist; Research Assistant
◦ Lab Tech
Education and Training
 Bachelor's
degree
◦ most scientists say it is necessary to
have a Ph.D. to be given the
responsibility to do creative work
Conclusion

Biotechnology offers great promise in:
◦ Improving the diagnosis and treatment of
hereditary diseases
◦ Formulation and manufacture of safer drugs
◦ Production of environmentally friendly
herbicides and pesticides
◦ Improvement in microbial processes to clean
up the environment
Making these promises a reality require effort
and revision of several assumptions
Thank You