The Biotechnology Century and Its Workfroce

C H A P T E R
PowerPoint® Lecture by:
Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith
Chapman University
The
Biotechnology
Century and
Its Workforce
1

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 1 Contents
• 1.1 What Is Biotechnology and What
Does It Mean to You?
• 1.2 Types of Biotechnology
• 1.3 Biological Challenges of the 21st
Century
• 1.4 The Biotechnology Workforce

1.1 What Is Biotechnology and What Does It
Mean to You?
• Biotechnology – using living organisms,
or the products of living organisms, for
human benefit to make a product or solve
a problem
• Historical Examples
– Fermentation
– Selective breeding
– Use of antibiotics

• Example of Biotechnology – Selective Breeding
• What feature of Casper makes it a "model organism"
to study migration of cancer cells compared to
wildtype fish?
Normal zebrafish "Casper" zebrafish – made
by selective breeding
Mean to You?
(a) (b)

Mean to You?
• Based on this tree,
can you become
successful in the
biotech industry
only studying
biology?

Mean to You?
• Modern Examples
– Gene cloning
– Genetic engineering
– Recombinant DNA technology
– Human Genome Project

Mean to You?
• Example of "modern" biotechnology:
– recombinant DNA technology started modern biotech
as an industry
• Examples of applications
– development of disease-resistant plants
– food crops that produce greater yields
– "golden rice" engineered to be more nutritious
– genetically engineered bacteria that can degrade
environmental pollutants
• Work in groups to come up with more
examples of applications

• Look at the two chromosomes and determine which
chromosome has more than one gene involved in
promoting breast cancer. Explain your answer.
– Now use the link to further study the diseases involved in
these chromosomes
• http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/chromosome
Mean to You?

Mean to You?
• Most drugs are developed to combat diseases
affecting humans – Why?
• Which disease has the most drug candidates? Why
does that disease have more drug candidates than
hepatitis C?

Mean to You?
• Use genetically modified cultured cells to
make protein of interest

Mean to You?
• Products of Modern Biotechnology
– Example of proteins created by gene cloning
called recombinant proteins

1.2 Types of Biotechnology
• Microbial Biotechnology
• Agricultural Biotechnology
• Animal Biotechnology
• Forensic Biotechnology
• Bioremediation
• Aquatic Biotechnology
• Medical Biotechnology
• Regulatory Biotechnology
Memorize

• Microbial Biotechnology – manipulation
of microorganisms such as yeast and
bacteria
– Create better enzymes
– More efficient decontamination processes for
industrial waste product removal
– Used to clone and produce large amounts of
important proteins used in human medicine

– United Nations Food and Agricultural Org.
predicts by 2050, we will need to feed a world
population of 9.1 billion! This requires raising
food production by approx. 70%!
– Work in groups to brainstorm a few
solutions to better feed the world by 2050.

– Plants more environmentally friendly that yield
more per acre (genetically engineered)
– Resistance to diseases and insects
– Foods with higher protein or vitamin content
– Drugs developed and grown as plant products
– These better plants ultimately reduce
production costs to help feed the growing
world population

– Work in groups to discuss how you can
use this technology in a third world
country to create a better corn crop (main
crop in that country) that contains all of
the 22 essential amino acids.

• Will improved crops that are created to
satisfy world hunger reduce available
land for biofuel crops? Discuss in
groups.

– Animals as a source of medically valuable
proteins
• Antibodies
• Transgenic animals
– Animals as important models in basic
research
• Gene "knockout" experiments
• Design and testing of drugs and genetic therapies
– Animal cloning
• Source of transplant organs

– transgenic animal: way to achieve large
scale production of therapeutic proteins from
animals for use in humans
– Female transgenic animals express
therapeutic proteins in milk (contains genes
from another source)
– Example: human genes coding for clotting
proteins can be introduced into female goats
for production of these proteins in their milk

– Gene knockout:
• Disrupt a gene in the animal and then look at what
functions are affected in the animal as a result of
the loss of the gene
• This allows researchers to determine the role and
function of the gene
• Since humans are similar to rats and mice, gene
knockout studies in rats and mice can lead to
better understanding of gene function in humans.
• Work in groups and give an example of a
gene you would like to knockout in mice.

– DNA fingerprinting
• Inclusion or exclusion of a person from suspicion
• Paternity cases
• Identification of human remains
• Endangered species
• Tracking and confirmation of the spread of disease

• Based on DNA results
from this gel, did the
defendant commit this
crime? Explain based
on the gel results.

• Bioremediation
– The use of biotechnology to process and
degrade a variety of natural and manmade
substances
• Particularly those that contribute to environmental
pollution
– Example – stimulated growth of bacteria that
degrade components in crude oil
• 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska
• 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill promoted research
into natural oil-degrading organisms and enzymes

• Bioremediation – adding nutrients to stimulate
growth of bacteria to clean up oil spill

– Aquaculture – raising finfish or shellfish in controlled
conditions for use as food sources
• 50% of all fish consumed by humans worldwide
– Genetic engineering
• Disease-resistant strains of oysters
• Vaccines against viruses that infect salmon and
other finfish
• Transgenic salmon that overproduce growth hormone
– Bioprospecting: rich and valuable sources of new
genes, proteins and metabolic processes with
important applications for human benefits
• Marine plankton and snails found to be rich sources of
antitumor and anticancer molecules

• Why create transgenic salmon overproducing
growth hormone?
• How does this modified salmon help humans?
transgenic
normal
Two different salmon

• Medical Biotechnology
– Involved with the whole spectrum of human
medicine
• Preventive medicine
• Diagnosis of health and illness
• Treatment of human diseases
– New information from Human Genome
Project
• Gene therapy
– Stem cell technologies

• Stem cells – grown in lab and then treated with
different chemicals to allow them to develop into
specific kinds of tissues needed for transplant
• Current use: stem cells are used for diabetes;
spinal cord injuries
• Work in groups to come up with a list of
other diseases you have read about in the
newspaper or heard on the news that
scientists are testing with stem cells.

• Medical biotechnology
– Genes are headline news items

• Regulatory Biotechnology
– Quality Assurance (QA)
• All activities involved in regulating the final quality of
a product
– Quality Control (QC)
• Part of QA process that involves lab testing and
monitoring of processes and applications to ensure consistent
product standards
• Together QA and QC ensure that biotechnology products meet
strict standards for purity and performance
• Why as a consumer should you care about a
product undergoing intense regulations?

1.3 Biological Challenges of the 21st
Century
• How will medical biotechnology change
our lives in the years ahead?
– Human Genome Project
• Research on the function of human genes and
controlling factors that regulate genes
– Human proteome
• Collection of proteins responsible for activity in a
human cell

Century
– Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)
• Single nucleotide changes (mutations) in DNA
sequences that vary from individual to individual
• These variations are the cause of some genetic
diseases (sickle cell anemia)
• SNPs will help identify genes involved in medical
conditions including arthritis, stroke, cancer, heart
disease, diabetes, and behavioral and emotional
illnesses

Century
• Example of SNPs and breast cancer
• Identification of SNPs in BRCA1 and BRCA2
genes involved in promoting breast cancer led to
development of better targeted treatments for
people who have those specific gene mutations
• Can you think of how this knowledge might
be useful for someone who is not already
diagnosed with cancer? (Hint: think of your
basic knowledge of genetics.)

• Example of how we can benefit from the human
genome project
• Based on the figure, why doesn't person 2 develop a
genetic disease due to the SNP (G → T)?
Century

Century
• How can you test one person's DNA for
many different SNPs?
• Microarray (gene chip)
– Isolate DNA from patient
– Apply this sample to a microarray which
contains many DNA sequences
– Compare patterns of DNA binding between
patient's DNA and DNA on microarray to
reveal patient's SNP patterns

Century
– Pharmacogenomics is customized medicine
• Tailor-designing drug therapy and treatment
strategies based on the genetic profile of a patient
– Do microarray analysis and then design drugs against
genes that are mutated for an individual patient
– Metabolomics
• A snapshot of the small molecules produced
during cellular metabolism
– Glucose, cholesterol, ATP, and signaling molecules
– Can distinguish between disease process and
physiological adaptation

Century
– Nanotechnology
• Applications that
incorporate extremely
small devices
• Small particles that
can deliver drugs
to cells

Century
• Gene therapy technology
– Replacing or augmenting defective genes with
normal copies of the gene
• Still have barriers to overcome before this
technology becomes safe and effective
• Obstacles include:
– How can normal genes be delivered to virtually all cells in
the body?
– What are the long-term effects of introducing extra genes
in humans?
– What must be done to ensure the proper protein is made
after the genes are delivered to the body?

Century
• Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is
emerging technology to silence genes that
are involved in disease progression

Century
• Stem cell technology
– Stem cells are immature cells that grow and divide to
produce different cell types
– Most stem cells are from embryos called embryonic
stem cells (ESCs) but they are controversial since the
process involves death of an embryo
– Some stem cells are from adult cells (ASCs)
• Either type of stem cell can be coaxed to grow into cells of
interest to replace damaged tissue or failing organs (liver,
pancreas, retina)
• Work in groups to explain why scientists are
doing more research using embryonic vs.
adult stem cells.

• ESCs can give rise to many types of
differentiated cells
1.3 Biotechnology in the 21st Century

Century
– Regenerative medicine
• Genetically modifying stem cells of patients to
treat genetic disease conditions
• In future scientists will be able to…
1. Isolate adult stem cells from a patient with a
genetic disorder
2. Genetically manipulate these cells by gene
therapy approaches
3. Reinsert the cells into the same patient to help
treat their genetic disease

• Biotechnology is a global industry
– Generates more than $63 billion in worldwide
revenues
– $40 billion in sales of biological drugs in the
United States
1.4 The Biotechnology Workforce

• Differences between a biotech and
pharmaceutical company
– Pharmaceutical companies is involved in drug
development (chemically synthesizing or
purifying compounds to make the drug)
– Pharmaceutical company does not use living
organisms to grow or produce a product
– Biotech company is involved in drug
development using live organisms
– Biotech companies also create products that
are not drugs

Insert table 1.3

• How does a biotech company start?
– Generally created as a startup company with few
employees backed by venture capital investments
(derived from financial institutions and private donors
called angel investors)
– Why invest as an angel donor? To ultimately have
company ownership in exchange for donating funds –
get rich if company is successful!
– Takes 10 years to get a product to market at a big
cost!
– Eventually startups are bought out by bigger
established companies
– Bringing drug close to market = value to the company
– File for initial public offering (IPO) stock

• Jobs in Biotechnology
– Research and development: preclinical,
discovery research, bioinformatics, lab safety
– Operations: process/product development,
manufacturing and production
– Quality: quality control and assurance
– Clinical research: clinical research and
regulatory affairs
– Finance and administration: finance, business
development, administration, information
systems, legal, facilities management

• Based on this graph, which type of job requires more
education and why?

• Organizational structure of medium sized
biotech company
• Based on this table, which jobs look like they require
the least amount of education?

• What is the best approach to landing a
good job in a biotech company?
– Obtain a degree in molecular biology,
biochemistry, or bioinformatics
– Minor in information technology
– Take lots of math courses
– Have great skills in oral and written
communication
– Must be a collaborative team player
– Why go into this field? It pays well and is
personally rewarding!

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