Introduction to Biotechnology Scope of Biotechnology Key areas of Biotechnology

1. INTRODUCTION TO
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Prepared by:
Krupal Shanishchara
B.Pharm, M.Pharm (Pharmaceutics)

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Introduction:
Biotechnology, the new 'high-tech' is a word that spells magic for academicians, researchers
and for industrialists alike. So, what actually is biotechnology? A broad definition - it
encompasses the use of living cells [microorganisms, plant cells and animal cells including
human cells] by manipulations on its genetic make-up, for the benefit of mankind.
Microorganisms have been the first to be used; they also make the maximum contribution to
biotechnology. Recombinant DNA technology is a direct result of key discoveries in microbial
genetics.
Biotechnology is not exclusive of the genetics of any living cell. We therefore go to the very
root of genetics - the nucleic acids, deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA and ribonucleic acid, RNA.
DNA is the hereditary material of all living cells; RNA also plays an equally important role in
the life of a cell.
Scope of Biotechnology:
The use of yeast is ancient, the initial vaccines were made over a century ago and innumerable
agricultural modifications have been carried out since the first cultivations on soil these served
as the stepping stones for the emerging biotechnology. It has been a long road to today's Human
Genome Project. The 1970s was the time that the direct manipulation of DNA was begun.
Before this, mutagenesis and artificial plant breeding existed.
Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen made the first transgenic organism in 1973 whence an
antibiotic resistance gene was inserted into the plasmid of an E. coli, Genentech was the first
genetic engineering company which, in 1977, produced the first human protein [in E. coli] that
was genetically engineered - somatostatin. The following year, human insulin was similarly
formed by animals are produced in microorganisms, because of the fast rate at which the
produced; this classic case is an example of the more successful cases. Proteins normally
microbes grow and the ease of manipulation afforded.
Key areas of biotechnology:
1. Agriculture market
2. Foodstuffs
3. Industrial
4. Biofuel
5. Cosmeceuticals
6. Biopharmaceutics
7. Antibiotics. Vitamins, Steroids, Enzyme etc.

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8. Food industry
9. Waste utilization
Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of the genome of a cell by introducing. altering
or removing stretches or single nucleotides of DNA, by an assemblage of methods known as
recombinant DNA technology.
Segments of DNA from desired trait-genes from manifold biological species, can be combined,
by employing specific enzymes and vector molecules like plasmids and viruses; the latter
introduce the desired genes into host cells for elaborating the required protein. The industrial
production of substances by fermentation, can therefore, be enhanced with respect to various
parameters. Recombinant DNA technology is the principal tool of biotechnology.
Down the years we got to know that genes are what control heredity. Today the DNA of every
gene in the human cell has been sequenced i.e., which nucleotide follows which and we also
know how many genes there are in the human cell. What does a gene do? It makes proteins in
the cell and the proteins control a variety of processes in the cell, including human cells. Even
if there is the most miniscule 'defect', in a gene, it would show in the protein and ultimately in
the body's process in the form of an abnormality. By studying the individual genes and having

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the technical ability to go backwards from a protein to a gene, it has been possible to treat
diseases, hitherto unconquered.
Drug designing has never been such an exciting prospect as today, when the targets in the body
are emerging clearly. The 'shape' of an abnormal protein enables one to design a drug to fit the
abnormal protein, like a lock and key mechanism, thus disabling the abnormal promise of the
near future. This is the alluring field of Pharmacogenomics. protein. And based on an
individual's genetic make-up, 'personalized medicines' are the promise of near future. This is
the alluring field of Pharmacogenomics.
Gene therapy deals with replacing the defective gene with the 'good' gene, in order to prevent
a diseased state. Various approaches of gene therapy have proved successful for diseases like
Parkinson's, multiple myeloma and haemophilia, to name a few.
Bioinformatics is the storing, analysis and retrieval of biological cell data, especially of the two
vital macromolecules, nucleic acids and proteins. Pharmaceutical biotechnology relies heavily
on this branch, for the designing of drugs.
Some tools and techniques that have created a revolution for biotechnology are outlined:
In 1978, Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Smith were awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine, for their work on the discovery and characterization of restriction
endonucleases [RE; also referred to as restriction enzymes]. These enzymes present in bacteria
and Archaea as defence mechanisms against viruses; they recognize the DNA of viruses as
foreign and destroy them.
The restriction enzymes which function by recognizing specific palindromic sequences of
nucleotides [4-8 bases long] in DNA, produce double-stranded cuts on it. Each enzyme has its
own recognition site and pattern of cuts on the double-stranded DNA. This property has come
to be the mainstay of genetic engineering whence DNA strands are cut in-vitro as well as joined
to other DNA strands, by using the same restriction enzymes. It is like performing the task with
a pair of specific-edged scissors and glue. They are aptly referred to as 'molecular scissors."
In the natural sequence of events, the flow of cellular genetic information is unidirectional i.e.
DNA is converted to RNA and further to proteins. But, surprises in nature are never-ending.
There is an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase, present in some viruses that can perform
the reverse of the natural operation - generate DNA from RNA. Howard Temin and David
Baltimore of the USA, independently discovered these enzymes in 1970, for which, in 1975,
they were jointly [with R. Dulbecco] awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
This enzyme is now most sought after for its activity in-vitro. The linear duplex of DNA that
is generated by this enzyme is known as complementary DNA [cDNA].

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The technique of polymerase chain reaction [PCR], developed by biochemist Kary Mullis in
1983, soon made its way to 'indispensable status' in recombinant DNA technology. Mullis, for
this inventive work, shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with Michael Smith [for site-
directed mutagenesis]. PCR is a powerful method for the rapid amplification of DNA in-vitro.
It makes use of the enzyme DNA polymerase to multiply selectively, a single molecule of
DNA, several million-fold, in few hours.
The PCR technology has had a colossal bearing on fundamental and molecular biology.
biochemistry and medicine as well as forensic science - large quantities of specific pieces of
DNA can be obtained from a small sample of DNA, whether fresh or fossilized, for
experimental and diagnostic purposes.
Are you your father's child? Find out with the paternity test that utilizes the technique of genetic
fingerprinting and restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP]. The method also
involves the Southern Blot technique in which the banding patterns of a person's DNA
fragments on filter paper, obtained by electrophoresis, are detected by probe hybridization.
Genetic fingerprinting is now central to forensic science in order to 'nab' criminals.
A southern blot of DNA fingerprinting of the victim, two suspects and sample from the site
of crime reveals that suspect 1 is the likely criminal to have murdered the victim, because
there are maximum similarities in the major and minor fragment patterns of the DNA blot -
between suspect 1 and the crime scene sample.

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Cloning is a word that has created ripples, especially in matters of ethics! Cloning literally
means, creating a carbon copy of an existing cell /complete organism. Dolly, the world's first
cloned mammal created in 1996, by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell of the Roslin Institute at
Edinburgh, Scotland, has been hailed as one of the most important biological advancements of
the twentieth century. That a cell taken from a specific part of the body can recreate a whole
organism, was true in Dolly's case, as stable clones were produced from a donor mammary
gland cell. The nucleus of this adult mammary gland cell was transferred to an unfertilized,
developing egg cell [oocyte] that had its own nucleus removed. The in vitro grown embryo was
implanted in surrogate mother to develop into full term sheep, Dolly. This technique is known
as somatic cell nuclear transfer. It can be most viable for preserving of endangered species and
reviving extinct ones.

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The use of biotechnological methods has made genetically modified plants, the lords of soil.
Genetic engineering techniques have given rise to plants having traits that are new for them
as well as having disease resistance, insecticides resistance and better nutrient profile among
others. The plants to have benefitted includes crops as well as non-crops.