Download Unit A: Global Agriculture

Biotechnology in
Agriculture
Interest Approach
• Would you ever think to infect a human with a virus in an
effort to attack another disease?
• Video
Objective 3.02
• Understand biotechnology in the plant industry.
Biotechnology Basics
• Biotechnology is the use of living organisms
(microorganisms) to make new products or carry out new
processes (solve problems).
• New product – Yogurt
• New Process –Tissue culture
• propagation method that rapidly multiplies plants
Historic Applications of Biotechnology
• Yeast to make bread rise
• Bacteria to produce cheeses and other dairy products
• Microorganisms to transform fruit or grains into alcoholic
beverages
• Use of bacteria to “produce” silage
• E.coli bacteria used to produce insulin
• It became one of the first commercial products created by
genetic engineering
Basic Genetics
• The science of heredity
• Gregor Johann Mendel
• discovered the effect of genetics on plant characteristics with his
experimentation with garden peas
• Heredity
• transmission of characteristics from an organism to its offspring
through genes in reproductive cells
• Genes
• determine the individual characteristics of living things
• segments of double stranded DNA
• Generation
• the offspring, or progeny, of common parents
Pea Plants
Heredity
What caused the passing of traits to offspring?
Basic Genetics
• DNA –Genetic Code of Life
• Chromosome
• a structure that holds the
genetic information of a cell
• DNA is wound tightly to form
the chromosome
• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
• coded material in all cell nuclei
• determines what that cell and
its successive cells will become
• structure is that of a twisted
ladder
• double helix
Basic Genetics
• Gene
• small section of DNA
• thousands of genes on a strand of DNA
• Gene mapping
• process of both finding and recording the locations of genes
Basic Genetics
• Bases
• Like rungs of a ladder that hold the two sides of the DNA strands
together.
• The bases are:
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Adenine (A) - only pairs with “T”
Thymine (T) – only pairs with “A”
Guanine (G) – only pairs with “C”
Cytosine (C) – only pairs with “G”
• Example:
• A–T
• G–C
• T-A
• The sequence of the bases between the DNA strands is the
code by which a gene controls a specific trait
• Baldness in humans
• The color of flowers on a plant
Processes and Practices in biotechnology
• Genetic engineering
• developed in the early 1980’s
• process of moving genetic information in the form of genes from
one cell to another
• Gene splicing or Recombinant DNA technology
• process of removing and inserting genes from one organism and inserting
them into the DNA of another
• Some examples are:
• Alter a plant’s susceptibility to disease
• Make a plant resistant to insects
• Process in animals is newer and not as well developed
Processes and Practices in biotechnology
• Cloning (micropropagation in plants)
• creating an exact genetic duplicate of another organism
• Indicator species
• one of the oldest methods of biological detection.
• uses plants, animals and microbes to warn us about pollutants in the
environment
Processes and Practices in biotechnology
• Bioremediation
• use living organisms to clean up toxic wastes in water and soil
Processes and Practices in Biotechnology
• Biostimulation
• Adding nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to stimulate
the growth of naturally occurring beneficial microbes
• faster more efficient work
Processes and Practices in biotechnology
• Phytoremediation
• plant absorbs or immobilizing pollutants
• First tested in the 1990’s
Processes and Practices in Biotechnology
• Animal Reproduction and
Production
• improving the efficiency of
reproduction and production
involve the use of
biotechnology
• These are considered the
more conventional uses of
biotechnology
• Biofuels
• Fuels composed of or
produced from biological raw
materials
Importance of Recombinant DNA Technology
• Improve plants’ and
animals’ performance
• The manipulation of genes
• Alter characteristics or
performance of
microorganisms
• Controlling disease,
insects, weeds, and other
pests
• Less use of chemical
pesticides
• Potential for helping clean
the environment
Concerns with the use of Biotechnology
• Safety
• State and federal government monitor
• Consumer resistance to new biotech food products
remains high
• safety of the environment
• human health concerns
• Rapidly changing field, which when not fully understood
• can create a fear of the unknown
• Labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods
• many people feel if a product is safe it should be labeled
• Concern has been expressed over the effect GMO’s may have
on biodiversity
Concerns with the use of Biotechnology
• Ethics
• system of moral principles
• defines what is right and wrong in a society
• raises important ethical questions about how biotechnology
should be used
Scientific Method used in
Biotechnology/Agriscience
• Steps of the scientific method:
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Identify the problem
Review literature
Form a hypothesis
Prepare a project proposal
Design the experiment
Collect the data
Draw conclusions
Prepare a written report
Biotechnology in the plant science industry
• Herbicide and insect resistant crops
• Examples:
• Herbicide tolerant soybean (Round-Up Ready Soybeans)
• contains a gene that provides resistance to broad spectrum
herbicides
• Others being developed
• Insect- resistant corn (Bt corn)
• contains a built-in insecticidal protein
• from a naturally occurring soil microorganism
• Bacillus thuringiensis
• gives season- long control of corn borers
Biotechnology in the plant science industry
• Crops with better nutrition and longer shelf life are products
of genetic engineering
• High Oleic Peanut
• genetically modified to produce nuts in high oleic acid
• longer life for nuts, candy and peanut butter
• High Oleic Sunflower
• sunflower oil that is low in trans-fatty acids
• Delayed- ripening tomato
• longer shelf life
• commercial advantages in harvesting and shipping
Biotechnology in the plant science industry
• Tissue culture
• Micropropagation
• use of a very small actively growing parts of the plant
• produces a large number of new plants
• African violets
• Venus Fly Traps
Objective 4.02
• Understand biotechnology in the animal industry.
Biotechnology in the Animal Science Industry
• Animal cloning
• For product uniformity
• drumstick uniformity in the poultry industry
• Saving endangered species
• New animals could be reproduced from the tissue of remaining
animals
• Research purposes
• Genetically identical animals are better for research studies that try
to isolate one variable
Biotechnology in the Animal Science Industry
• Biotechnology in Animal Reproduction and Production
• BST (Bovine somatotropin)
• A hormone produced in the pituitary gland of cattle
• increases milk production
• Method of gene splicing genetic material into E. coli bacteria
• Produced at relatively low cost
• Dairy cows given BST will produce more milk
Biotechnology in the Animal Science Industry
• Biotechnology in Animal Reproduction and Production
• Artificial Insemination (AI)
• Process involves the introduction of the male sperm into the
reproductive tract of a female
• By means other than the natural mating process
• Most of the cows in the dairy industry are produced through AI
Biotechnology in the Animal Science Industry
• Biotechnology in Animal Reproduction and Production
– Embryo Transfer
– Transferring of embryos from one female to another
– One female can produce many calves in a year due to
superovulation
• donor animal to release several eggs instead of just one
– A superior female can be fertilized by genetics from a superior male
• resulting embryos implanted into inferior female animals
Embryo Transfer Process
Examples of tools for use in Animal Science
• Insemination rods and straws
• used in artificial insemination to insert semen into
female
Examples of tools for use in Animal Science
• Microscope
• used to examine sperm for artificial insemination
Examples of tools for use in Animal Science
• Liquid nitrogen tank
• used to store semen
Objective 5.02
• Understand biotechnology in the environmental science
industry.
Environmental Biotechnology
• Biotechnology is playing a large part in detecting and
monitoring pollution and determining how much is
present
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Indicator species
• Lichens are widely used as environmental indicators or bioindicators
• If air is very badly polluted with sulfur dioxide, there may be no
lichens present, just green algae may be found
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Bioremediation
• Bacteria is used to clean up oil and fuel spills
• Oleophilic (attracted to oil) bacteria used to clean up oil spills
• Hanahan, SC, a suburb of Charleston, had an 80,000 gallon jet fuel
leak from a military fuel storage facility
• fuel entered the ground and the groundwater
• Bacteria were successfully used to remediate this problem
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Biostimulation
• The Exxon Valdez clean-up
• Used the addition of nutrients
• Feed the oleophilic bacteria
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Biodiesel
• made from oilseeds
• Soybean
• canola oil
• proven to decrease harmful emissions
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Phytoremediation
• Oregon Poplar Site (illegal industrial waste dumping site)
• J-Field at Aberdeen Proving Ground( disposal site of chemical
warfare agents, munitions and industrial chemicals)
• used hybrid poplar trees
• remove VOC’s
• volatile organic compounds from contaminated soil
Environmental Biotechnology Examples
• Genetic engineering
• bacterial strains are under development to convert solid waste
from humans and livestock into sugar and fuel
Limitations of using bio and
phytoremediation
• Time
• often considered slower than chemical techniques
• Applicability
• they do not apply to all situations
• Fear
• those who live near treatment sites often would rather have the
contaminated soil removed than treated
• Fear that the process will not uncontaminate the soil
Essay Writing
• If you were a scientist, what world disease or problem would
you be interested in researching and working to find a cure?
How do you think biotechnology could help you in your
research?
• Requirements:
• 2-3 pages, typed, double spaced, Times New Roman Font
• Conduct research online and develop your essay.
Lab
• Purpose: To extract DNA from various fruit
• Materials
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Digital Scale
NaCl
100 mL Dish Detergent
1000 mL beaker
Weigh boat
900 mL water
Fruit (strawberry or ½ banana)
Test Tube
Inoculating Loop
25 mL or 50 mL beaker
Lab Scoop
Dixie Cup
Procedures
• Extraction Solution
• Measure 900 mL water
• Mix 5g of NaCl (salt)
• 100 mL of dish detergent
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In a ziploc bag, mash strawberry for 2 minutes
Add 10 mL of extraction buffer solution and mash for 1 minute
Filter solution into Dixie Cup using coffee filter
Pour filtered solution into test tube (about 1” high)
Pour ice cold isopropyl alcohol into test tube (til half full)
Use inoculating loop to spool DNA
Conclusion
• Your thoughts on the lab!
DNA: Secret of Life Video Quiz
1. What makes up DNA? (backbone and the rungs of ladder)
2. Who discovered DNA? (Two male scientists)
3. DNA is the instruction for the building blocks of what?
(insulin is an example of this)
4. What genetic disease did Patrice suffer from?
5. What “project” was completed to map a human’s DNA?
6. Write in complete sentences something you have learned
from this unit and/or video