Maharashtra Board XII th Science Chapter 12 , Part 2

1. BIOTECHNOLOGY
By Dr. Janaki V. Pandey (Ph.D.)
Chapter 12 (Part 2) 1

2. Application of Biotechnology
BIOTECHNOLOGY
ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Tissue culture, generative
medicine, immnotechnology,
GM animals,
pharamacogenesis,
gene therapy
INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Enzyme biotech, protein &
metabolic engineering,
metabolomics
PLANT BIOTECH
Cell & tissue
culture, GM crops,
marker assisted
selection
MICROBIAL BIOTECH
Microbial genomics,
biofertilizers,
biopesticides, IPM
GENOMICS
Whole genome
sequencing, gene
function, reverse
genetics, bioinformatics
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECH
Pollution control, biofuels,
bioremediation, biodiversity
2

3. a) HEALTH CARE BIOTECHNOLOGY
Sr.
No
HEALTH CONDITIONS RECOMBINANT PROTEIN
1 Anaemia Erythropoietin
2 Asthma Interleukin-1 receptor
3 Atherosclerosis Platelet derived growth factor
4 Parturition Relaxin
5 Blood clots Tissue plasminogen Activator (TPA),
Urokinase
6 Cancer Interferons, tumor necrosis factor
interleukins,
Macrophage activating factor
7 Diabetes Insulin
8 Emphysema α1- Antitrypsin
9 Haemophilia A Factor VIII
10 Haemophilia B Factor IX
11 Hepatitis B Hepatitis B vaccine
3

4. Human Insulin
• Insulin is a hormone produced by 𝛽- cells of islets of
Langerhans of pancreas.
• It control blood sugar levels in humans.
• Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which some people
cannot make insulin themselves.
• DNA sequence of insulin for two chains A and B are
chemically synthesized & separately inserted into two
pBR322 plasmid vector.
• The genes are inserted by the side of β-galactosidase
gene of the plasmid.
• The recombinant plasmids were then separately
transformed into E. coli host.
• The host produced penicillinase + pre-pro insulin.
Insulin is later separated by trypsin treatment.
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5. 5

6. Vaccine production
• Vaccine is made from a weakened or killed form of
disease causing microorganism.
• Biotechnology has offered modern diagnostic test
kits- rickettsial, bacterial & viral vaccines along with
radio labelled biological therapeutic for imaging &
analysis.
• Biotechnology has made advancements in
vaccination by making recombinant vaccines that
have the potential to eradicate non-communicable
diseases like cancer.
• Naked DNA vaccines, viral vector vaccines and plant-
derived vaccines are found to be effective against
various bacterial & viral disorders.
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7. Oral Vaccine – a novel approach
• Immunogenic protein from pathogen is isolated & gene
construct is produced.
• This is introduced & expressed in a plant genome, which
results in production of immunogenic proteins in the
parts of the plant where it is expressed.
• These when fed into animals or humans, the person
becomes vaccinated against certain pathogen. Such
vaccines are known as edible vaccines.
• ‘Melt in the mouth’ vaccines production. Eg: Production
of flu vaccine by Bacillus which melts in the mouth &
delivers it into blood stream.
• The tremendous benefit of such vaccines, is the comfort
of administration, low cost and ease of storage.
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8. b) AGRICULTURE
• GM Organisms, Bt Cotton, Pest Resistant
Plants helps in modifying plants, animals, and
microorganisms and improve their
agricultural productivity.
• Tissue Culture is used in Micropropagation &
for storing germplasm and maintaining a
specific genetic type (Clone).
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9. c) GENE THERAPY
• Gene therapy is the treatment of disease by replacing,
altering or supplementing a gene that is absent or
abnormal & whose absence or abnormality is responsible
for the disease.
• The genetic factor can be wholly or partially responsible
for the disease.
• Eg: Cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, and muscular dystrophy,
changes in a gene directly result in the condition.
• Genetic & environmental factors interacts to cause
disease like high cholesterol & high B.P.
• Single gene defects - sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia,
Tay-sach’s disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s chorea,
haemophilia, alkaptonuria, albinism, etc.
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10. Gene therapy is being used in many ways.
1. Replace missing or defective genes.
2. Deliver genes that speed the destruction of cancer cells.
3. Supply genes that cause cancer cells to revert back to
normal cells.
4. Deliver bacterial or viral genes as a form of vaccination.
5. Deliver DNA to antigen expression and generation of
immune response.
6. Supply of gene for impairing viral
replication.
7. Provide genes that promote or impede the growth of
new tissue.
8. Deliver genes that stimulate the healing of damaged
tissue. 10

11. Forms of gene therapy
a) Germ line gene therapy
• Healthy genes can be introduced into germ
cells like sperms, eggs, early embryos.
• It allows transmission of the modified genetic
information to the next generation.
11

12. b) Somatic cell gene therapy :
• Gene is introduced only in somatic cells like bone
marrow cells, hepatic cells, fibroblasts endothelium and
pulmonary epithelial cells, central nervous system,
endocrine cells and smooth muscle cells of blood vessel
walls.
• Modification of somatic cells only affects the person
being treated and the modified chromosomes cannot be
passed on the future generations.
• It is used in cancer and rheumatoid arthritis and blood
disorders including SCID, Gaucher’s disease, familial
hypercholesterolemia, haemophilia, phenylketonuria,
cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia, Duchenne muscular
dystrophy, emphysema, thalassemia etc.
12

13. d) Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs)
• Living organisms whose genetic material has
been artificially manipulated in a laboratory
through genetic engineering.
• This creates combinations of plant, animal,
bacteria & virus genes that do not occur in
nature or through traditional crossbreeding
methods.
• GMOS have been made to withstand
application of herbicide/ produce an
insecticide, resistance to browning in apples.
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14. 1. Transgenic plants
• Biotechnology has created genetically varied
crops.
• 60 transgenic dicot & several monocot have
been made.
• Eg- Tobacco, tomato, soyabean, potaoto,
sugarbeet, grapes, brinjal, cotton, rice, wheat,
maize, oats.
• It is a bioreactor for production of novel drugs
like interferons, edible vaccines, antibodies,
amino acids, immunotherapeutic drugs, etc.
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15. Advantages of transgenic plants
• Insect pest resistance
• Improved nutritional qualities
• Modification in Post-harvest characteristics
• Plants as factories
• Producing edible vaccine
15

16. a) Insect pest resistance
• It help farmers to reduce the use of chemical
pesticides.
• Biological insecticide from Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt) is an alternative to chemical
pesticides.
• Insect resistant plants contain either a gene
from B. thuringiensis or the cowpea trypsin
inhibitor gene.
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17. • Cry gene present in B. thuringiensis produces a
protein that forms crystalline inclusions in
bacterial spores.
• When ingested by a susceptible insect, toxins are
formed in the midgut of insect, by combination
of high pH and the enzyme proteinase of the
insect.
• It leads to midgut paralysis and disruption of
midgut cells of insect.
• Bt toxin activity has been used against many
species for Eg: Lepidoptera, Diptera, and
Coleoptera.
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18. • Gene of α-amylase inhibitor (αAl-Pv) has been
isolated from adzuki bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
and transferred to tobacco and this gene
works against pests like Zabrotes subfasciatus
and Callosobruchus chinensis.
18

19. b) Improved nutritional qualities
(biofortification):
• Transgenic plants provide functional food and
neutraceuticals.
• Transgenic rice (golden rice) and transgenic
mustard (golden mustard) are created to solve
the deficiency of vitamin A in
developing countries.
• The crops are high in vitamin A
due to which they have golden
colour.
Golden rice
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20. • Improvement in oil content and oil quality in
soybean, oil palm, rapeseed and sunflower,
have been achieved by transfer of ‘Arabidopsis
genes’.
• Iron deficiency is also solved by using iron
storage protein (ferritin).
• Genes for ferritin protein isolated from
soybean and Phaseolus have been transferred
to rice.
20

21. c) Modification in Post-harvest
characteristics:
• Deterioration are due to physiological
changes of endogenous enzyme activity.
• In the tomato the enzyme polygalacturonase
breaks down the cell wall constituent- pectin,
leading to softening of fruit.
• By inhibiting the polygalacturonase by
antisense genes tomato are modified.
• Eg. Flavr savr tomatoes
21

22. d) Plants as factories
• Plants are potential factories or bioreactors for
high valuable chemicals.
• Biopharmaceuticals like proteins, hormones,
antibodies, vaccines or enzymes are isolated from
transgenic plants.
• Eg:
1) Human growth hormone with the gene inserted
into the chloroplast DNA of tobacco plants.
2) Humanized antibodies against HIV, Respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV),
the cause of "cold sores“.
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23. 3) Protein antigens used in vaccines for e.g.
Patient-specific antilymphoma (a cancer)
vaccines. B-cell lymphomas are clones of
malignant B cells expressing on their surface
a unique antibody molecule.
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24. Novel products
• A ‘superglue’ produced by tobacco plants with
genes encoding for powerful adhesive proteins,
enables marine mussels to stick to rocks. It will be
especially valuable as a biochemical glue for body
repairs during surgery.
• Transgenic plants, containing oil- encoding gene
from marine algae, produce oil that has
nutritional value similar to cod- liver oil.
• Plant that will produce the antimalarial drug,
Artemisinin.
• Genetically engineered opium poppy to produce
more powerful painkillers.
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25. e) Transgenic plants producing edible
vaccines
• Plant products acting as vaccines would be
inexpensive to produce and thus, can easily be
made available in developing countries.
• Potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, soybeans,
alfalfa and cereals are the most common
foods proposed for edible vaccine delivery.
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26. 2) Transgenic animals
• These animals are genetically modified
through rDNA technology.
• Eg- mice, rats, rabbits, pig, sheep, cows, fowls,
fish.
• Foreign DNA is introduced into the animal,
using rDNA technology, & then transmitted
through the germ line so that every cell,
including germ cells, of the animal contain the
same modified genetic material.
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27. Applications of animal biotechnology
• In medical research, transgenic animals are used
to identify the functions of specific factors in
complex homeostatic systems through over- or
under-expression of a modified gene (the
inserted transgene).
• In toxicology: as responsive test animals
(detection of toxicants).
• In mammalian developmental genetics.
• In molecular biology, the analysis of the
regulation of gene expression makes use of the
evaluation of a specific genetic change at the
level of the whole animal.
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28. • In the pharmaceutical industry, targeted
production of pharmaceutical proteins, drug
production & product efficacy testing.
• In biotechnology: as producers of specific
proteins.
• Genetically engineered hormones to increase
milk yield, meat production; genetic engineering
of livestock and in aquaculture affecting
modification of animal physiology and/or
anatomy; cloning procedures to reproduce
specific blood lines &
• Developing animals specially created for use in
xenografting.
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29. 29

30. a) Transgenic mice and cancer research
• Study & investigations of oncogene i.e cancer
causing gene are carried in various
laboratories.
• Transgenic mice can be used for research in
cancer treatment.
• The oncogenes myc and ras were analysed to
find out if they lead to breast cancer
in mice transformed with these genes.
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31. b) Transgenic farm animals
The main objectives are given below.
1) Efficiency of meat production
2) Improved quality of meat
3) Milk quality and quantity
4) Egg production
5) Wool quality and quantity
6) Disease resistance in animals
7) Production of low-cost pharmaceuticals and
biologicals.
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32. c) Transgenic cattle for food
production
• Additional copies of bovine
beta or kappa casein is
introduced into dairy cattle
& evaluated the effect on
milk production &
composition.
• Transgenic offspring had an
8 to 20 % increase in beta
casein & a two- fold increase
in kappa casein.
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33. d) Transgenic cattle for human
therapeutic production
• Human proteins that have been expressed in milk
include human lactoferrin, human alpha
lactalbumin, human serum albumin & human bile
salt stimulated lipase.
• One transgenic cow would be more than
sufficient for production of annual world supply
of factor IX (plasma thromboplastin component)
that is used in the treatment of hemophilia.
• Tracy a transgenic sheep which produce human
protein (alpha 1-antitrypsin) in her milk .
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34. • Antibodies are used for treatment of
infectious disease, cancer, transplanted organ
rejection, autoimmune diseases and used as
antitoxins.
• To make a human antibody product, the
genetically modified cows are immunized with
a vaccine containing the disease agent.
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35. e) Transgenic sheep
• Transgenic sheep are able to achieve better growth and
meat production.
• Human growth hormone gene is introduced in sheep for
promoting the growth & meat production.
• Bacterial genes, cys E and
cys M, are concerned with
biosynthesis of cysteine
amino acids involved in
formation of keratin
protein found in wool.
• Both genes are identified,
cloned & introduced in sheep
to increase wool production
& to improve the quality of
wool. Tracy sheep
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36. f) Transgenic pigs
• The objective of gene transfer in pigs is to increase
growth & meat production.
• Pigs are most suitable animals to be bred for heart
transplant because a pig’s heart is about the same size as
a human heart.
• Pig heart valve have been used in human heart
surgery for over a decade.
• The pig clone is the
first step towards
providing animal
organs & tissues for
human transplants
(xenotransplantation).
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37. g) Transgenic fish
• Atlantic salmon, catfish, goldfish, Tilapia, zebra-
fish, common carp, rainbow trout, etc. are
transfected with growth hormone, chicken
crystalline protein and E. coli hygromycin
resistance gene.
• Transgenic fish showed increased cold tolerance
& improved growth.
• The quantity and quality of fish proteins & its
preservation are
the factors affecting
the economic value
of fish.
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38. h) Transgenic chicken
• Transgenic chicken carry & express foreign
genes.
• They could be used to improve the
genetic make-up of existing strains
with respect to built-in (in vivo)
resistance to viral and coccidial
diseases, better feed efficiency,
lower fat & cholesterol levels &
high protein containing eggs &
better meat quality.
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39. BIOETHICS
• Bioethics deals with what should & should
not be done while using rDNA technology.
• It helps to study moral vision, decision and
policies of human behavior in relation to
progress in biological science and technology.
• Bioethics deals with ‘Life’.
• E.g.- In vitro fertilization, sperm bank, gene
therapy, cloning, gene manipulations,
euthanasia (intentional end of life /mercy
killing ), maintaining those who are in coma,
prenatal genetic selection, etc.
39

40. • The use of biotechnology like cloning, gene
therapy, rDNA technology, etc has drawn wide
range of reactions in the society.
• Ethical aspects pertaining to the use of
biotechnology seems to be more controversial
& frightening.
• Eg: Use of animals can cause sufferings to
them.
• Transfer of human genes into animals and
animal genes into humans.
• Risk to environment, health and biodiversity.
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41. • GMOs has led to a wider debate on bioethical
concerns affecting social, economic &
environmental spheres.
• They can effect the non target organism,
insect resistance crops & gene flow.
• This can result in loss of diversity &
disturbance in natural process of biological
entities.
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42. Effects of Biotechnology on Environment
a . Herbicide use and resistance
• GM crops increases the ability to produce pesticides &
resistance to specific herbicides.
• If use of herbicides is increased it may have negative effect on
the environment.
• Weeds (unwanted plants)
can also develop
resistance to herbicides
through cross pollination
thus negating benefit of the
herbicide.
• Eg: Round-Up ready
soybean crops possibly
imparts resistance to
weeds in the fields. (
Roundup Ready Soybean
42

43. b. Effects on Untargeted Species
• Bt corn, which produces its own pesticide, is
also in use today.
• It has adverse effects on Monarch butterfly
populations, which are
not the original target
of the pesticide.
• It can also have
unintentional effects
on neutral or even
beneficial species.
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44. Effects of Biotechnology on Human Health
a) Allergies:
• GM Plants like “Biotech Soybean ” in which gene
to increase amount of amino acid Methionine is
inserted.
• This soybean can cause allergies to humans.
b) Long-Term effects:
• GMO technology has been available for such a
short amount of time, there is relatively little
research which has been conducted on the long-
term effects on health which we cannot
anticipate at this point.
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45. c) New Proteins :
• New Proteins that have never been ingested before by
humans are now part of the foods .
• People consume this every day. Their effects on the
human body are still unknown .
d) Food Additives :
• GMOs can give additional nutrients into foods, as well
as antibiotics and vaccines to those countries who don’t
have them.
• But there are great chance of the creation of antibiotic
and vaccine-resistant strains.
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) takes
care of safety for public use.
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46. Biopatent
• Patent is a special right granted to the inventor by
the government.
• A patent consists of three parts –
1. grant (agreement with the inventor)
2. specification (subject matter of invention) and
3. claims (scope of invention to be protected).
• Biopatent is a biological patent.
• Biopatent are awarded to recognized real
innovative contributions made by the inventor to
the cause of human welfare.
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47. • Biopatent are awarded for strains of
microorganisms, cell lines, genetically modified
strains, DNA sequences, biotechnological
processes, product processes, product and
product applications .
• Indian patent allows process patent & not the
‘Product Patent’
• Duration of biopatent is 5 years from the date of
grant.
• First biopatent was patented to genetically
engineered bacterium ‘Pseudomonas’ used for
clearing oils spills.
47

48. Biopiracy
• Biopiracy is defined as, ‘theft of various
natural products and selling them by getting
patent without giving any benefits to the
inventor or the host country’.
• The act of piracy is unauthorized publication
or reproduction of another person’s work or
material.
• The traditional knowledge is facing a problem
of biopiracy.
48

49. Examples of biopiracy
1) Patenting of Neem:
• Indians have been using Neem in a variety of
ways since ancient times and shared the
knowledge with the entire world.
• Pirating this knowledge, the USDA & an
American MNC W.R Grace has got the patent
of fungicidal properties of Neem oil.
• This is an example of biopiracy.
49

50. 2) Patenting of Basmati:
• Basmati rice is indigenous to the Indian
subcontinent.
• A Texas based company got patent on a new
variety basmati rice called Texmati through
US patent & Trade mark office.
• The new variety Texmati is derived by crossing
Indian Basmati with semi dwarf variety.
• This is a case of biopiracy.
• This patent was cancelled in 2001.
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51. 3) Haldi (Turmeric) biopiracy:
• Indians have been using Haldi for centuries in
Ayurveda as well as for daily use.
• US Patent & Trade mark office got a patent for
healing property of Haldi.
• This is a case of biopiracy.
• CSIR has applied to US Patent office for a
reexamination & they evaluated and
cancelled the patent.
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