BIOTECHNOLOGY AND
ITS APPLICATIONS
Introduction
Biotecnology,essentially deals with industrIal scale production of biopharmaceuticals and biologicals usong gnetically modified microbes, fungi, plants and animals. The applications of biotechnology includes therapeutics, diagnostics, geneticlly modified crops for agriculture, processed food, bioremediation, waste treatment, and energy production. Three critical research areas of biotecnology are:
- Providing the best catalyst in the form of improved organism usually a microbe or pure enzyme.
- Creating optimal conditions through engineering for a catalyst to act,and
- Downstream processing technologies to purify the protein/ organic compound.
The operations of biotechnology include rectifiers,
diagnostics and genetically modified crops for husbandry, reused food,
bioremediation, waste treatment, and energy production.
Three critical exploration areas of biotechnology are;
- Creating optimal conditions through engineering for a catalyst to act, and
- Downstream recycling technologies to purify the protein/ organic emulsion.
Biotechnological applications in Agriculture:
The three options
that can be allowed for adding food production are,
- Agro-chemical grounded husbandry
- Organic husbandry; and
- Genetically engineered crop- grounded husbandry.
The Green Revolution has succeeded in tripling the food force but yet it wasn't enough to feed the growing human population. Scientists have decided that use of genetically modified crops is a possible result. Plants, bacteria, fungi and Animals whose genes have been altered by manipulation are called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Genetic modification has;
• Made
crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses
• Reduced
reliance on chemical fungicides
• Helped
to reduce post crop losses
• Increased
effectiveness of mineral operation by Plants
• Enhanced
nutritive value of food, eg., Vitamin ‘A’ amended rice.
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Bt Cotton
Some strains of
Bacillus thuringiensis produce a toxinous insecticidal protein. The Bt toxin
protein live as inactive protoxins but once an insect ingest the inactive toxin,
it's converted into an active form of toxin due to the alkaline pH of the gut
which solubilise the chargers. The actuated toxin binds to the face of midgut
epithelial cells and creates pores that beget cell lump and lysis and
ultimately cause death of the insect.
Bt toxin genes were
insulated from B. thuringiensis and incorporated into the several crop Plants
similar as cotton. The toxin is enciphered by a gene named‘cry’. There are a
number of them, for illustration, the proteins decoded by the genes cryIAc and
cryIIAb control bollworms and cryIAb controls sludge borer.
Pest Resistant Plants: A nematode Meloidegyne incognitia infects
the roots of tobacco Plants and causes a great reduction in yield. A new
strategy was adopted to help this infestation which was grounded on the process
of RNA interference (RNAi). This system involves silencing of a specific mRNA
due to a reciprocal dsRNA patch that binds to and prevents restatement of the
mRNA (silencing).
Using Agrobacterium
vectors, nematode-specific genes were introduced into the host plant. The
preface of DNA was similar that it produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in
the host cells. These two RNA’s being reciprocal to each other formed a double
stranded (ds DNA) that initiated RNAi and therefore, silenced the specific mRNA
of the nematode. The consequence was that the parasite couldn't survive in a
transgenic host expressing specific snooping RNA. The transgenic plant thus got
itself defended from the parasite.
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Biotechnological Application in Medicine
The
rDNA technological processes have made immense impact in the area of healthcare
by enabling mass product of safe and more effective remedial medicines. At
present, about 30 recombinant rectifiers have been approved for human use the
world over. In India, 12 of these are presently being retailed.
Genetically
Engineered Insulin: Insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains; chain A
and chain B, that are linked together by disulphide bridges. In mammals,
including humans, insulin is synthesized as a prohormone, which contains an
redundant stretch called the C peptide. This C peptide isn't present in the
mature insulin and is removed during development into insulin.
Biotechnology and its applications NEET Notes pdf download
In 1983, Eli Lilly
an American company prepared two DNA sequences corresponding to A and B, chains
of human insulin and introduced hem in plasmids of E.coli to produce insulin
chains. Chains A and B were produced independently, uprooted and combined by
creating disulfide bonds to form human insulin.
Gene Therapy: Gene therapy is a collection of styles that allows
correction of a gene disfigurement that has been diagnosed in a child/ embryo.
Correction of a inheritable disfigurement involves delivery of a normal gene
into the individual or embryo to take over the function of and compensate for
the non-functional gene.
The first clinical gene therapy was given in 1990 to a 4- time old girl with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. This enzyme is pivotal for the immune system to function.
As a first step towards gene therapy, lymphocytes from the blood of the case are grown in a culture outside the body. A functional ADA cDNA is also introduced into these lymphocytes, which are latterly returned to the case. Still, if the gene insulate from gist cells producing ADA is introduced into cells at early embryonic stages, it could be a endless cure.
Biotechnology and its Applications class 12 ncert notes
Molecular Diagnosis:
Recombinant DNA
technology, Polymerase Chain Response (PCR) and Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent
Assay (ELISA) are some of the ways that serve the purpose of early opinion.
PCR
A veritably low
attention of a bacteria or contagion can be detected by modification of their
nucleic acid by PCR. PCR is now routinely used to detect HIV in suspected AIDS
cases. It's being used to descry mutations in genes in suspected cancer cases
too.
ELISA
It's grounded on the
principle of antigen-antibody commerce. Infection by pathogen can be detected
by presence of antigens or by detecting the antibodies synthesized against the
pathogen.
Transgenic Animals:
Animals that have
their DNA manipulated to retain and express a redundant (foreign) gene are
known as Transgenic Animals
Reasons for the
production of transgenic animals
a) Normal physiology and development:
Transgenic Animals can be specifically designed to allow the study of how genes
are regulated and how they affect the normal functions of the body and its
development.
b) Study of disease: Numerous transgenic Animals
are designed to increase our understanding of how genes contribute to the
development of complaint, so that disquisition of new treatments for conditions
is made possible.
c) Biological products: Transgenic Animals
that produce useful natural products can be created by the preface of the
portion of DNA (gene) which canons for a particular product similar as human
protein (nascence-1-antitrypsin) used to treat emphysema. The first transgenic
cow, Rosie, produced human protein- amended milk (nascence-lactalbumin-2.4 gm/ liter).
d) Vaccine safety: Transgenic mice are
being developed for use in testing the safety of vaccines before they're used
on humans (polio vaccine).
e) Chemical safety testing: Transgenic Animals
are made that carry genes which make them more sensitive to toxin substances
than non-transgenic Animals They're also exposed to the toxin substances and
the goods studied.
Ethical
Issues
The Indian Government has set up associations similar as
GEAC (Genetic Engineering Blessing Committee), which will make opinions
regarding the validity of GM exploration and the safety of introducing
GM-organisms for public services.
Bio patent:
A patent is the right granted by a government to an
innovator to help others from making marketable use of his invention. Now,
patents are granted for natural realities and for products deduced from natural
coffers.
Bio
piracy
It's the term used
to relate to the use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other
associations without proper authorization from the countries and people
concerned without compensatory payment.
In 1997, an American
company got patent rights on Basmati rice through the US Patent and Trademark
Office. This allowed the company to vend a‘new variety of Basmati, in the US
and abroad. This ‘new’ variety of Basmati had actually been deduced from Indian
planter’s kinds. Indian Basmati was crossed with semi-dwarf kinds and claimed as
an invention or a novelty.
Several attempts
have also been made to patent uses, products and processes grounded on Indian
traditional herbal drugs e.g., turmeric and neem.