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Contents
Sr.
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Topic Pg.
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1 Introduction 03
2 History 03
3 Biotechnology-A Multidisciplinary Field 06
4 Branches of Biotechnology 08
5 Why use Biotechnology? 09
6 Future perspectives 09
7 References 10
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Introduction
Biotechnology is the word in common use now a days. Almost everyone has heard about it.
But what is Biotechnology? In general, Biotechnology is the use of living things for human
beings”. A Hungarian engineer, Karl Erkey [1]
, in 1920, coined the term Biotechnology. Until
now, Biotechnology has been defined many times.
“Any technique that uses living organisms or their products,
to make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals,
or to develop microorganisms for specific uses”.
(US Congress)
A widely spread misconception about Biotechnology is that it is a new field. In fact,
Biotechnology has a strong history which shows that Biotechnology is relatively an old field
which is developing these days.
History
The history of Biotechnology comprises three main phases (Figure 1) [1]
:
1) Ancient
2) Classical
3) Modern
1) Ancient Biotechnology (Pre-1800)
Ancient Biotechnology begins with the civilization of the human being. It develops due to the
need for food to survive. But there exist a very little data about it. The research by archeologists
by studying the cravings of the past provide a little bit information about that era.
Food
Plants from different areas were selected and grown near the caves to fulfill the dietary
demands.
Animals
Animals were hunted from the wild and the concept of farming arose.
Preservation
Food was preserved by burying it in the snow. Later on, people started using vinegar and plant
oils for purpose of food preservation for long time.
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2) Classical Biotechnology
This was the area in which people used different Biotechnological techniques but without
knowing the science behind the processes. People develop different methods to get different
food products from simple ingredients and then to preserve food.
Milk products
Different products including curd, yogurt and cheese were obtained from milk by fermentation.
Bread
Using the basic fermentation processes, breads were manufactured.
Wine and Beer
Wine was the liquid made from grapes by using the basic methodologies. Beer required more
sophisticated methods and was made from the grains instead of grapes.
Many milestones of Biotechnology developed in classical Biotechnology era. Such as:
Defining the factors
Mendel defines the hereditary particles as factors in by doing experiments on Pea plant.
Description of fermentation
Louis Pasture described the basics of fermentation in 1857 and initiated modern Microbiology.
Discovery of Penicillin
Alexander Fleming accidently discovered the antibiotic Penicillin from a fungus, Penicillium
chrysogenum, in 1928.
3) Modern Biotechnology
Modern Biotechnology deals with manipulations in genetic material and often termed as
Recombinant DNA technology [2]
. It began with the discovery of the Structure and function of
DNA in 1953 by Watson and Crick.
Discovery of operons
In 1961, Jacob and Monod gave the concept of operons in the genome.
Gene cloning
First ever gene cloning was successfully done in 1973. This was done in bacteria by using
bacteriophage DNA. Dolly sheep is also produced by using this technique.
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Monoclonal antibodies
For the first time, monoclonal antibodies were synthesized by Kohler and C. Milestein in 1975.
Polymerase chain reaction
Kary Mullis brought forward the PCR in 1983.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s)
Genetically modified animals and plants with desired characters were produced. GM Tobacco,
GM Escherichia Coli and many other such examples now exist around us.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation gained attention in 1989 when a consortia was used to clear an oil spill in
Germany.
Genome projects
By using combined techniques, genomes of different organisms (e.g. Homo sapiens, yeast,
frog, Arabidopsis thaliana) have been sequenced.
Figure 1: Development of Biotechnology
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Personal perspective about Biotechnology: A Multidisciplinary Field
Biotechnology has evolved as the implementation of different engineering processes to the
biological systems. So, Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field as it integrates the
coordinated use of different fields such as Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Engineering,
Genetics, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Mathematics, Structural Biology, and Statistics
(Figure 2). These fields are involved in various ways to widen the scope of Biotechnology.
Biochemistry explores the molecular aspects of life. It provides the detailed knowledge about
functions as well as structures of biological and cellular components. It has its applications in
a number of fields including Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Human Physiology. The
examination of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and other biomolecules using Biochemistry helps
a scientist to understand the proper functioning of living organisms and most importantly the
malfunctioning. In this way, it is easy to understand the ways by which the optimized
conditions can be maintained for living organism to be used in production of biological
products.
Developments in Bioinformatics have expanded its role in accelerating in biotechnological
research as well as managing the biological data. It combines the use of Mathematics,
Information Technology and Computer Science to resolve the complicated biological issues at
molecular level. This helps Biotechnology by using collections of a number of softwares and
tools for analyzing and interpreting the biological data. These tools assist in predicting the
structures of biomolecules in silico and work on the basis of advanced algorithms to record the
data of genes, proteins, drugs, vaccines and metabolic pathways.
Engineering has played a vital role in evolution of Biotechnology. For scaling up the
production of socio- economic products by using biological systems, engineering techniques
are used from the beginning of bioconversion and biotransformation processes to the end of
down streaming procedures. Techniques can be from multiple branches of Engineering such
as Process Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, and Enzyme engineering. Process
Engineering provides a way to the processing of raw materials to the end desired products.
Engineering also helps in developing bioreactors and fermenters.
Emerging tools of Genomics and Genetic Engineering have the central role in Biotechnology.
The basic principle of genetic engineering, transferring genes between organisms or species, is
being used in developing biotechnological industry. It has facilitated the large scale production
of genetically modified organisms like microbes, animals, and plants, and recombinant proteins
by making efficient use of biosynthetic pathways. Functional Proteomics and Functional
Genomics are basically used in genetic engineering procedures to identify and develop new
strains of desired microbes. Complete genome sequences of multiple species are now available.
Microbes are the entities without which biotechnology might cease. These are involved in
almost every aspect of Biotechnology. From a single biotransformation/ fermentation to the
production of desired bio-product, microbes are found. Applied Microbiology focuses on the
eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, their structural features and also their products e.g. enzymes.
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Moreover, microbes are used in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology to produce the
desired product on large scale and to clean the polluted environment, respectively. Escherichia
coli is commonly used as modal organism in laboratory. Enzymes from the modified strains of
microbes are used in production of food products and in synthesis of antibiotics, antibodies,
biopolymers and essential biomolecules.
Molecular Biology is a dynamic field which deals with the study of components of central
dogma and their functioning in maintaining a life form. In Biotechnology, it helps in
understanding basic biological processes or to produce an outstanding product using living
entities. Techniques and knowledge from Molecular Biology can be used to make better, the
quality of life on earth by bringing forth the novel therapeutics, new drugs, and modified
bacterial strains to perform different functions. Modified bacteria can be used for sewage water
treatment and in fermentation to produce biofuels. Furthermore, applications of Molecular
Biology are also found in the fields of agriculture, aquaculture, textile and food processing.
In all branches of Biotechnology, Statistics is used both in experiments and results. At the time
of planning and conducting experiments and also at the time of data analysis and result
interpretation, Statistics is definitely used. Biostatistics uses different softwares to summarize
the data obtained. Without using statistics, it would be difficult to combine and generalize the
sample results for the whole population.
Figure 2: Biotechnology: A Multidisciplinary Field
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Branches of Biotechnology
Biotechnology can be classified into following main categories [3]
:
a) Agricultural Biotechnology (Green Biotechnology)
Agriculture Biotechnology deals with plants. Biotechnology techniques are used in plants to
improve nutritional values, to increase herbicide as well as insecticide resistance and to provide
environmental friendly farming. By developing transgenic plant, many desired characteristics
can be developed in the plant.
b) Aquatic Biotechnology (Blue Biotechnology)
Aquatic or marine Biotechnology is the application of Biotechnologies to the marine
environment, on sea creatures e.g. fishes, marine bacteria. These marine organisms are used
for increasing seafood supply and developing new drugs [4]
.
c) Black Biotechnology
Black Biotechnology is the Biotechnology which is developed to harness energy from the
energy rich sources especially Biofuels.
d) Health Biotechnology (Red Biotechnology)
Health Biotechnology deals with issues related to the health of human being. These issues can
be genetic disorders, gene mutations etc. Its examples include the production of antibiotics,
monoclonal antibodies, drug discovery, etc. [5]
. Genetic analysis using PCR, FRET and FISH
can be used to analyze mutations. Docking or In silico drug designing is helpful in drug
development and pharmacology. In the development of targeted and effective therapeutic
products, Biotechnology is a powerful tool available to researchers in the diagnosis and
treatment of a large number of diseases.
e) Industrial Biotechnology (White Biotechnology)
Use of living organisms and enzymes to synthesize products which have desired qualities.
These products are easily degradable, require less energy and create less waste during their
production. Bacterial enzymes have been used in food manufacturing and as active ingredients
in washing powders to reduce the use of artificial surfactants. Transgenic Escherichia coli are
used to produce human insulin in large fermentation tanks [6]
. Due to white Biotechnology,
many innovations are developing in chemical, textile, and health care industries.
f) Yellow Biotechnology
Yellow Biotechnology also called as Food Biotechnology, involves Nutrition Sciences. This
uses different Biological products to produce economical and nutritious edibles to combat the
need of food in world.
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Importance of Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field well developing these days. It provides better ways for food
production, pollution control, controlling diseases, to improve sanitary conditions as well as to
grow crops with better as well as desired qualities. With the increasing population, the need of
food is continuously increasing. Biotechnology can provides better options to combat the
hunger in the developing world. The use of chemical fertilizers is polluting the environment,
so here we get the option of using Biofertilizers obtained through Biotechnology. Moreover,
Biopesticides can be used to replace the chemicals pesticides which are toxic for living
organisms and also pollute the environment. Biotechnology is being used for production of
many drugs by using bacterial or fungal cells. In addition to all above, Biotechnology is being
used to produce economical products on commercial scale. In a nut shell, Biotechnology
techniques and products are providing better alternative to the existing ones.
Future perspectives
Biotechnology is benefiting the humans in various ways but there are still many
biotechnologies which need to be explored. Recombinant DNA technology can be used to
combat different needs of living organisms. Population is increasing at an alarming rate day by
day. To meet the food requirements, feeding crops can be modified, animals can be made to
produce required amount of meat and milk. Water reserves are being polluted now, these can
be maintained by using water treating biotechnologies involving modified bacterial strains.
Biotechnology can be used in developing Bio-robotics. Bio-robots would manufactured using
living tissues. These bio-robots will be able to handle situation according to their skills &
understanding which is not possible in the case of artificial robots. In a nut shell, we can say
that Biotechnology has a wide horizon unexplored, which will be explored in coming years.
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References
1. Frazzetto, G. (2003). "White biotechnology." EMBO Rep 4(9): 835-837.
2. Thorsteinsdóttir, H., et al. (2011). "Health biotechnology innovation on a global stage."
Nat Rev Micro 9(2): 137-143.
3. DaSilva, E. J. (2012). The Colours of Biotechnology: Science, Development and Humankind.
4. https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/biotechnology_en
5. Abuduxike, G. and S. M. Aljunid (2012). "Development of health biotechnology in
developing countries: Can private-sector players be the prime movers?" Biotechnology
Advances 30(6): 1589-1601.
6. Verma, A. S., et al. (2011). "Biotechnology in the Realm of History." J Pharm Bioallied
Sci 3(3): 321-323.
7. http://www.agbioforum.org/v2n34/v2n34a04-mcgloughlin.htm
