This document provides an overview of biotechnology, including its definition, history, concepts, and applications. It discusses how biotechnology has evolved from early domestication of plants and animals, to modern applications using genetic engineering and recombinant DNA techniques. Key events highlighted include Mendel's work on inheritance in the 1800s, and the discoveries of DNA structure and recombinant DNA techniques in the 1950s-70s which formed the basis of modern biotechnology. The document also outlines various branches and applications of biotechnology in areas like agriculture, medicine, industry, and environment.

1. Biotechnology:
Basic concepts, Principles
and scope
Dr. Shriram Kunjam
Assistant Professor
Department of Botany
Govt. V.Y.T. PG Autonomous College, Durg (Chhattisgarh)
Email: shriramkunjam07@gmail.com

2. Introduction
The utilization of biological processes, organisms or systems to
produce products that are anticipated to improve human lives is
termed biotechnology.
In prehistoric times, a primitive form of biotechnology was
practiced by agriculturalists who established better-quality species
of plants and animals by methods of cross-pollination or cross-
breeding

3. Previous forms of biotechnology include the training and
selective breeding of animals, the cultivation of crops and the
utilization of micro-organisms to produce products such as
cheese, yogurt, bread, beer and wine. Early agriculture
concentrated on producing food.
The most primitive type of biotechnology is the cultivation of
plants and the training (in particular the domestication) of
animals.

4. The domestication of animals stretches back over 10 000 years, when our
ancestors also started maintaining plants as a reliable source of food.
The earliest examples of such domesticated plants are rice, barley and
wheat.
Wild animals were also controlled to produce milk or meat.
The ancient production of cheese, yogurt and bread from micro-
organisms is also reported.
Various alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine were developed during
this period, when the process of fermentation was first discovered

5. Concepts of Biotechnology
The word ‘biotechnology’ has been derived from two
simple terms of science,
Biology and Technology.
As the name suggests “It is the assembly of technology
in science of biology”.

6. Biotechnology: A Basic Requirement
• In general, biotechnology uses either living material or biological
products to create new products for their use in various
pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural, and environmental
applications, with the ultimate goal to benefit humanity,
• for example, production of recombinant proteins, resistant crops,
vegetables, higher milk producing animals, and the list is endless.

7. Károly Ereky
(German: Karl Ereky; 20 October 1878 – 17 June 1952) was
a Hungarian agricultural engineer.
The term 'biotechnology' was coined by him in 1919.
He is regarded as the founding Father of biotechnology.
1919, he published a book in Berlin called Biotechnologie der Fleisch-,
Fett- und Milcherzeugung im landwirtschaftlichen
Grossbetriebe (Biotechnology of Meat, Fat and Milk Production in an
Agricultural Large-Scale Farm) where he described a technology based
on converting raw materials into a more useful product.

9. Definition of Biotechnology
We can define biotechnology as a set of techniques that are employed to
manipulate living organisms, or utilize biological agents or their
components, to produce useful products/services.
Biotechnology, broadly defined, includes any technique that uses living
organisms, or parts of such organisms, to make or modify products, to
improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific use.
It ranges from traditional biotechnology to the most advanced modern
biotechnology.

10. Most simply it may be defined as:
• “The regulated and controlled use of the biological agents
for the manufacture of useful products or for generating
beneficial services”.
• Biotechnology is the integrated use of biochemistry,
microbiology and engineering sciences in order to achieve
technological applications of the capabilities of
microorganisms, cultured cells/tissues and parts thereof.
(‘European Federation of Biotechnology’)

11. Biotechnology is 'the controlled use of biological agents,
such as microorganisms or cellular components for
beneficial use (US National Science Foundation).
According to IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry), biotechnology means “the application of
biochemistry, biology, microbiology and chemical
engineering to industrial processes and products and on
environment.”

12. Traditional and Modern Biotechnology:
• The art of biotechnology is very old.
• It is as old as human civilization.
• It actually began when man started the domestication of useful
plants and animals and started utilizing microbes for making
various beverages (like wine, beer), curd, vinegar, etc.

15. It is as follows:
• Old Biotechnology is the one which involves the exploitation and
utilization of natural resources.
• New Biotechnology involves the use of
recombinant DNA technology,
enzyme engineering,
genetic engineering practices, etc.,
for developing newer or improved capabilities of biological agents for
production of beneficial services or products.

16. Historical Advancement of Biotechnology
• Biotechnology related activities depend on two parameters:
 Technological advancement and
 Knowledge of available biota.

17. A distinction is made between ‘non-gene
biotechnology’ and ‘gene biotechnology
Non-gene biotechnology
 Non-gene biotechnology works with whole cells,
tissues or even individual organisms.
 Non-gene biotechnology is the more popular
practice, involving plant tissue culture, hybrid
seed production, microbial fermentation,
production of hybridoma antibodies and
immunochemistry
Gene biotechnology
• Gene biotechnology deals with genes, the
transfer of genes from one organism to
another and genetic engineering

18. Biotechnology and its Various Stages of
Development
• Ancient biotechnology - 8000-4000 B.C
• Early history as related to food and shelter; includes domestication
• Classical biotechnology - 2000 B.C.; 1800-1900 AD
• Built on ancient biotechnology; fermentation promoted food production and
medicine
• 1900-1953: Genetics
• 1953 - 1976: DNA research, science explodes
• Modern biotechnology - 1977
• Manipulates genetic information in organism; Genetic engineering

19. History of the development
of biotechnology.
Some of the important
biotechnology discoveries
have been plotted in this
graph, with a possibility for
its unlimited growth in the
future
Source: Verma et al. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2011 Jul-Sep; 3(3): 321–323.

20. Ancient biotechnology (pre-1800)
• In the period before the year 1800, some events that were based
on common observations about nature can be categorized as
biotechnological developments.
• Three important basic needs of human civilization are food,
clothes and shelter.
• In the ancient era the paucity of food led to the domestication of
food products, formally called ‘agriculture’.

28. Classical Biotechnology
• The second phase of evolution and development of
biotechnology can be called 'Classical Biotechnology’.
• This phase existed from 1800 to almost the middle of the
twentieth century.
• During this period various observations started pouring in, with
scientific evidences.

29. • The basics for the transfer of genetic information are the
core of biotechnology. This was, for the first time,
deciphered in plants, i.e., Pisum sativum, commonly
known as Pea plant.
• These observations were decoded by Gregor John Mendel
(1822-1884), an Austrian Augustinian Monk. Mendel at
that time presented “Laws of Inheritance” to the Natural
Science Society in Brunn, Austria.
• Mendel proposed that invisible internal units of
information account for observable traits, and that these
‘factors’ -later called as genes, which are passed from one
generation to the next.

33. Modern Biotechnology (1945-present)
• The Second World War became a major impediment in
scientific discoveries. After the end of the second world war
some, very crucial discoveries were reported, which paved the
path for modern biotechnology.

34. • The origins of biotechnology culminate with the birth of genetic engineering.
• There were two key events that have come to be seen as scientific breakthroughs
beginning the era that would unite genetics with biotechnology:
• One was the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, by Watson and Crick, and
• the other was the 1973 discovery by Cohen and Boyer of a recombinant DNA
technique by which a section of DNA was cut from the plasmid of an E. coli
bacterium and transferred into the DNA of another.
• Popularly referred to as “genetic engineering,” it came to be defined as the basis
of new biotechnology.

35. Various technologies and their uses
• Genetic Engineering (Recombinant DNA) Technology
• The use of cellular enzymes to manipulate DNA
• Transferring DNA between unrelated organisms
• Protein Engineering Technology
• Improve existing/create novel proteins to make useful products
• Antisense or RNAi Technology
• Block or decrease the production of certain proteins
• Cell and Tissue Culture Technology
• Grow cells/tissues under laboratory conditions to produce an entire organism, or to produce new
products
• Bioinformatics Technology
• Computational analysis of biological data, e.g., sequence analysis macromolecular structures, high-
throughput profiling data analysis

36. • Biotechnology is an interdisciplinary pursuit
with multidisciplinary applications, and it
may be represented as a growing
biotechnology tree.
• An overview of biotechnology with special
reference to the fundamental principles and
scientific foundations, biotechnological
tools and applications of biotechnology.
Biotechnology-A Multidisciplinary
Growing Tree

37. Branches of Biotechnology

38. 1. Animal Biotechnology
• It deals with development of
transgenic animals for increased milk
or meat production with resistance to
various diseases.

40. 2. Medical Biotechnology
1. Diagnose & treat different diseases with effective recombinant
therapeutic drugs
2. Protect from dangerous diseases
3. Through gene therapy new & healthy genes can be inserted to
replace damaged cells
4. Targeted action of drug by thorough study of genomics

42. 3. Industrial Biotechnology
• It deals with commercial production of various useful organic
substances such as
acetic acid, citric acid,
acetone, glycerine, etc.,
antibiotics like
penicillin, streptomycin, mitomycin, etc. through the use of
microorganisms especially fungi and bacteria.

43. Applications of biotechnology in industry

45. 4. Environmental Biotechnology
• It deals with detoxification of waste and industrial effluents,
treatment of sewage water, and control of plant diseases and insects
through the use of biological agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi,
etc.

47. 5. Plant Biotechnology
• It deals with development of transgenic plants with resistance to
biotic and abiotic stresses;
• development of haploids,
• embryo rescue,
• clonal multiplication,
• cryopreservation, etc.

50. Examples
1. Flavr savr tomato
 Longer shelf life.
 Antisense DNA is introduced
that retards ripening
2. Golden Rice
 Greater pro vitamin A content.
 Genetically engineered.

51. APPLICATIONS
OF
BIOTECHNOLOGY

53. Application of biotechnology
in agriculture- Bt crops

54. Bacillus thuringiensis
• Soil bacterium.
• Produces a protein that has
insecticidal properties.
• Traditionally used as spray.

55. Mechanism of Bt
• Bt produces Bt toxins which are
inactive protoxins.
• When an insect ingests it, inactive
protoxin gets converted into active
form due to alkaline pH of the
insect’s gut.
• This led to swelling of gut and
ultimately death of insect
Bt (in inactive form)
sprayed on Crops
Eaten by insect
Toxin gets activated by
alkaline pH of insect’s gut
Swelling of gut of insect
Death of insect

56. • Cry gene in Bt produces
inactive protoxins.
Crop plants are now
engineered to
express Bt toxin.

57. Bt crops are now commercially available.
For Example-
Bt Rice Bt Cotton Bt
Tomato
Bt Brinjal Bt Soybean Bt Potato
Bt Corn

58. Agrobacterium tumefaciens
• Soil bacterium.
• Causes crown gall tumors in dicotyledonous
plants.
• T DNA (gall producing gene) occurs in Ti
plasmid.
• Ti plasmid is used as vector for higher plants.
• Many genetically modified plants are produced
using A. tumifaciens.
Tumor
Mechanism

62. R&D

63. List of Biotechnology Research Laboratory,
University, and Centre in India
DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
• Centre For DNA Fingerprinting And Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad
• Institute of Life Sciences, Bhuvaneswar
• National Institute Of Immunology, New Delhi
• National Institute For Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi
• National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Gurgaon
• National Centre for Cell Sciences, Pune
• Indian Vaccines Corporation Limited, Gurgaon

64. INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
(ICMR)
 National Institute of Virology National AIDS
 Research Institute (NARI) Regional Medical
 Research Centre Bhubaneswar
 Regional Medical Research Centre Dibrugarh
 Regional Medical Research Centre Port Blair
 Regional Medical Research Centre Jabalpur
 Desert Medicine Research Centre Jodhpur

65. • CDRI - Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow
• CFTRI - Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore
• CIMAP - Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Lucknow
• ITRC - Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow
• NBRI - National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow
• NEERI - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur
• CCMB - Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (CSIR) INSTITUTE IN INDIA

66. COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL
RESEARCH (CSIR) INSTITUTE IN INDIA

68. 5. DRDO
DRDO is working in various areas of military technology which include
aeronautics, armaments, combat vehicles, electronics, instrumentation
engineering systems, missiles, materials, naval systems, advanced
computing, simulation and life sciences.
6. ICMR
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in
India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical
research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.