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Lecture outline
•
Applications of biotechnology in
Agriculture and food production
•
Industrial application of biotechnology
•
Applications of biotechnology in Health
•
Applications of biotechnology in
Pharmaceuticals
•
Applications of biotechnology in
Environment
• Applications
of biotechnology in Legal discipline
…applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
1. Conventional Plant
Breeding
–
Since the beginning of agriculture 8-10,000 years ago,
farmers have been altering the genetic makeup of the crops they grow.
–
Early farmers - best looking plants and seeds (faster
growth, higher yields, pest and disease resistance, larger seeds, or sweeter
fruits )
–
They discovered that some crop plants could be artificially
mated or cross-pollinated to increase yields.
I:
Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
–
When the science of plant breeding was further
developed in the 20th century, plant breeders understood better how to select
superior plants and breed them to create new and improved varieties of
different crops.
–
A few of these traits occasionally arise spontaneously
through a process called mutation, but the natural rate of mutation is very
slow and unreliable to produce all plants that breeders would like to see
•
Mutation
breeding - late 1920s : by exposing plants to X-rays and chemicals
•
Hybrid seed technology: Cross pollination
 |
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture
and food production
2 . Tissue Culture and Micropropagation
– Plants
usually reproduce by forming seeds through sexual reproduction.
– That
is, egg cells in the flowers are fertilized by pollen from the stamens of the
plants, each of these sexual cells containing genetic material in the form of
DNA.
– During
sexual reproduction, DNA from both parents is combined in new and unpredictable
ways, creating unique organisms.
– This
unpredictability is a problem for plant breeders as it can take several years
of careful greenhouse work to breed a plant with desirable characteristics
–
Tissue culture is
the cultivation of plant cells, tissues, or organs on specially formulated
nutrient media. Under the right conditions, an entire plant can be regenerated
from a single cell
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
– Micropropagation, which is a form of tissue
culture, increases the amount of planting material to facilitate distribution
and large scale planting
– In
this way, thousands of copies of a plant with desirable traits can be produced
in a short time
– Plants
important to developing countries that have been grown in tissue culture are
oil palm, plantain, pine, banana, date, eggplant, jojoba, pineapple, rubber
tree, cassava, yam, sweet potato, and tomato.
– This
application is the most commonly applied form of biotechnology in Africa.
–
Examples of the use of tissue culture in crop
improvement in
Africa include
•
A new rice plant
type for West Africa (NERICA – New Rice for Africa)
• Bananas propagated from apical meristem in
Kenya
3. Molecular Breeding and
Marker-Assisted Selection
–
The process of developing new crop varieties requires
many steps and can take almost 25 years
–
Now, however, applications of biotechnology have
considerably shortened the time it takes to bring them to market (7-10 years
)
–
One of the tools, which makes it easier and faster for
scientists to select plant traits is called marker-assisted
selection ( MAS )
–
The genes, which control the plant’s characteristics,
are specific segments of each chromosome (all of the plant’s genes together
make up its genome).
–
Some traits, like flower colour, may be controlled by
only one gene, other more complex characteristics, however, like crop yield or
starch content, may be influenced by many genes
–
Traditionally, plant breeders have selected plants based on
their visible or measurable traits, called the phenotype -difficult, slow, influenced by the environment, and costly
–
As a shortcut, plant breeders now use marker-assisted selection
–
To help identify specific genes, scientists use what are
called molecular markers
–
The markers are located near the DNA sequence of the desired
gene
–
Since the markers and the genes are close together on the same
chromosome, they tend to stay together as each generation of plants is produced
–
If researchers can find the marker for the gene, it means the
gene itself is present
–
Limitations: works for traits already present in a crop;
cannot be used effectively to breed crops which have long generation time (e.g.
citrus); cannot be used effectively with crops which are clonally propagated
because they are sterile or do not breed true eg banana, yam
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture
and food production
4. Genetic engineering
and GM crops
– Nature’s own genetic
engineer
•
For thousands of years, genes have moved from one
organism to another, eg Agrobacterium
tumefaciens, a soil bacterium known as ‘nature’s own genetic engineer’, has
the natural ability to genetically engineer plants
•
It causes crown gall disease of a wide range of
broadleaved plants, such as apple, pear, peach, cherry, almond, raspberry and
roses
•
Basically, the bacterium transfers part of its DNA to
the plant, and this DNA integrates into the plant’s genome, causing the production
of tumors and associated changes in plant metabolism.
Crown gall disease
… Applications of
biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
.
– Application
of genetic engineering in crop production
• Genetic engineering techniques are only used
when all other techniques have been exhausted, i.e. when the trait to be
introduced is not present in the germplasm of the crop; the trait is very
difficult to improve by conventional breeding methods; and when it will take a
very long time to introduce and/or improve such trait in the crop by
conventional breeding methods (see Figure ).
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
–
Development of
transgenic crops (5 steps)
• The
most widespread application of genetic engineering in agriculture by far is in
engineered crops
• Thousands
of such products have been field tested and many have been approved for
commercial use
• The
traits most commonly introduced into crops are herbicide tolerance, insect
tolerance, and virus tolerance.
– Herbicide
Tolerance: The current set of
commercially available herbicide-tolerant crops is tolerant to three herbicides
based on three active ingredients: bromoxynil, glyphosate, and glufosinate.
–
Insect Tolerance: All of the commercially available
insect-tolerant plants contain a version of the toxin Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which is found in nature in soil
bacteria.
… Applications of biotechnology in
Agriculture and food production
– Bt
toxins are highly effective for many pest organisms, like beetles and moth
larva, but not toxic to mammals and most other non target organisms
– Virus
Tolerance: These crops contain a gene taken from a virus - plants produce
certain viral proteins
•
On the livestock side - a rabies vaccine intended for
use on wild raccoons, Animals Engineered for Leaner Meat, Animals Engineered as
Drug-Production Facilities (sheep, goat), Animals Engineered as Sources of
Transplant Organs (pigs), Animals Engineered for Disease Resistance
(Chickens and
turkeys have been engineered to resist avian diseases )
•
Others include, engineered predatory mite, Bacteria to
kill/repel pests, bacteria producing rennet (chymosin) used in making cheese
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture
and food production
5. "Omics" Sciences: Genomics, Proteomics and
Metabolomics
– The
genome can be defined as the entire DNA inside a cell
– Genomics,
is therefore the study of the genetic make-up of organisms.
– Determining
the genomic sequence , functional genomics, comparative genomics, structural
genomics - to generate the 3D structure of one or more proteins from each
protein family, thus offering clues to their function
– Agronomically
important genes may be identified and targeted to produce more nutritious and
safe food while at the same time preserving the environment.
–
Proteomics: Proteins are responsible for an endless
number of tasks within the cell. The complete set of proteins in a cell can be
referred to as its proteome and the study of protein structure and function and
what every protein in the cell is up to is known as proteomics
… Applications of biotechnology in
Agriculture and food production
– The
proteome is highly dynamic and it changes from time to time in response to
different environmental stimuli.
– The
goal of proteomics is to understand how the structure and function of proteins
allow them to do what they do, who or what they interact with, and how they
contribute to life processes.
– An
application of proteomics is known as protein expression profiling where
proteins are identified at a certain time in organism as a result of the
expression to a stimulus
–
Metabolomics: Metabolomics
is one of the newest ‘omics’ sciences. The metabolome refers to the complete
set of low molecular weight compounds in a sample (is
the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific
cellular processes leave behind“)
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture
and food production
Metabolomics
can be used to determine differences between the levels of thousands of
molecules between a healthy and diseased plant
• 6. Plant Disease Diagnostics
– Biotechnology
has also allowed the development of diagnostics which has assisted farmers
worldwide in managing different diseases affecting their crops.
– New
diagnostic techniques are now available that require minimal processing time
and are more accurate in identifying pathogens
– These
diagnostics are based on rapid detection of proteins or DNA that are specific
to each pathogen, disease or condition
– Examples
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture
and food production
•
ELISA diagnostic
kits: There are already numerous ELISA test kits available in the market to
detect diseases of root crops (e.g. cassava, beet, potato), ornamentals (e.g.
lilies, orchids), fruits (e.g. banana, apple, grapes), grains (e.g. wheat,
rice), and vegetables. For example, these techniques can detect ratoon stunting
disease of sugarcane, tomato mosaic virus, papaya ringspot virus, banana bract
mosaic virus, banana bunchy top virus, and watermelon mosaic virus.
•
Direct
tissue blotting: In this method, diseased tissue samples are pressed to
draw out proteins onto a special paper and the antibodies are added to the
sample. A color-inducing reagent is added afterwards to react with the
antibody-pathogen complex
•
DNA/RNA
probes: These probes are fragments of nucleic acid arranged in a
sequence complementary to that of the DNA or RNA of the pathogen.
•
PCR: This is a
lot more sensitive compared to the other techniques as PCR can detect very
small amounts of a pathogen’s genetic material per sample and amplify certain
sequences to a detectable level.
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food
production 7. Microbial
Fermentation
– For
many years, man has been taking advantage of the activities of millions of
microorganisms found in the soil to improve agricultural productivity
– Man
has used naturally occurring organisms to develop biofertilizers and
biopesticides to assist plant growth and control weeds, pests, and diseases,
respectively.
– The
microbes help the plant to “take up” essential energy sources, and in return,
plants donate their waste byproducts for the microbes to use for food
•
Biofertilizers:
•
A fungus called Penicillium
bilaii is the roots’ key to unlock phosphate from the soil.
•
It makes an organic acid which dissolves the phosphate
in the soil so that the roots can use it.
… Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
•
A biofertilizer made from this organism is applied
either by coating seeds with the fungus (called inoculation), or putting it
directly into the ground where the plant’s roots will live.
•
Bacterium Rhizobium
fixes nitrogen
•
Biopesticides: As
with friendly microorganisms, scientists have developed biological “tools”
which use the diseasecausing microbes to control weeds and pests naturally.
•
Bioherbicides
•
is another way of controlling weeds without
environmental hazards posed by synthetic herbicides . Bioherbicides are made up
of microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses, fungi) and certain insects (e.g.
parasitic wasps, painted lady butterfly) that can target very specific weeds.
The microbes possess invasive genes that can attack the defense genes of the
weeds, thereby killing it.
…
Applications of biotechnology in Agriculture and food production
•
With the advances of genetic engineering, new generation
bioherbicides are being developed that are more effective against weeds
•
Bioinsecticides
|
|
Source
|
Mode of
action
|
Example
|
Control
agent
|
|
|
Bacteria
|
Produce toxins that are detrimental to certain
insect pests when ingested
|
Bacillus thuringiensis Agrobacterium radiobacter
|
Lepidopteran
Crown
gall disease
|
||
|
Viruses
|
Kills insects when ingested. Insect feeding
behaviour is disrupted thus it starves and die
|
Baculoviruses
Nuclear
polyhedrosis
vir
|
Lepidopteran,
Hymenopteran
|
||
|
Fungi
|
Grow on
insects secreting enzymes that weakens outer coat, enter inside grow and kill
|
Entomophaga
praxibulli
Neozygites floridana
|
Grasshopper
Cassava
green mite
|
||
|
Protozoa
|
Kills insects when ingested. Insect's feeding
behavior is disrupted thus it starves and dies.
|
Nosema,
Virimorpha
Malamoeba
|
G’hopper,
Lepidopt Locusts
|
||
|
Nematode
|
Enter and kill through insets body natural openings
or penetrate through cutile directly
|
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora
|
Black vine weevil, Japanese beetles
|
II: Industrial application of biotechnology
•
Ammunitions:
Some of the earliest industrial applications of biotechnology involved the
production of ingredients to make explosives during the First World War.
Supplies of these essential ingredients for production of munitions had been
disrupted by naval blockades.
•
Alternative
fuels and chemicals: This include the production of ethanol from the
digestion of biomass by genetically improved yeast or bacteria, and the
conversion of agricultural products
into glycerol and acetone using microbes.
•
Antimicrobials:
Similar fermentation systems were developed to grow microbes for the production
of antibiotics. Large scale production of antibiotics was not possible until
suitable fermentation systems were developed, and strains with higher yield of
antibiotics were identified eg Penicillin from Penicillium spp
II: Industrial application of biotechnology
• Enzyme production: Genetically modified
bacteria produce enzymes for use in research and industry. Example: bacterial
protease used in laundry detergent, rennet (chymosin) for cheese making
Biodegradable plastics: Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and
polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) are found naturally in some bacteria. Through gene
transfer, plants that produce PHB in inclusion bodies have been made.
• Bioprocessing
option: conv-strong chemicals, gas effluent
– E.g. Manufacture of Vitamin B2 (Hoffman
La-Roche, Germany)-subst mult-step chem proc with one step biol proc using GMO.
Land disposal of hazardous waste greatly reduced, Waste to water discharge
reduced 66%. Air emissions reduced 50%. Costs reduced by 50%
III: Applications of biotechnology in Health
•
Disease diagnostics
– Biotechnology
provides new tests to rapidly and more accurately detect pathogens
– An
array of test kits for a dozen of communicable and genetic diseases are
commercially available
– PCR
based methods are also assuming an increasing role in the diagnosis of diseases
•
Identification of drug resistance organisms
– In
recent years, DNA methods have proved to be very useful in the identification
of organisms which are difficult to isolate or culture
–
Some of the genes that are responsible for drug
resistance in important pathogens, including those responsible for
tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria have already been characterized e. g.
protease, reverse transcriptase-HIV/AIDS, katG-TB and dhfr, dhps, crt K76T and
mdr-malaria
III: Applications of biotechnology in Health
•
Gene therapy
– Gene
therapy is a technique for correcting defective genes responsible for disease
development
– Researchers
may use one of several approaches for correcting faulty genes
•
A normal gene may be inserted into a nonspecific
location within the genome to replace a nonfunctional gene. This approach is
most common
•
An abnormal gene could be swapped for a normal gene
through homologous recombination.
•
The abnormal gene could be repaired through selective
reverse mutation, which returns the gene to its normal function.
•
The regulation (the degree to which a gene is turned on
or off) of a particular gene could be altered
IV:
Applications of biotechnology in Pharmaceuticals
•
Applications of biotechnology in the area of
pharmaceuticals and therapies is very diverse encompassing : therapies using
bacteriophages, monoclonal antibodies, stem cells and therapeutic proteins
vaccines, including plant-based and DNA vaccines, hormones etc
•
There are now many examples of proteins produced in
this way, especially proteins that are used in the treatment of human diseases
Protein Application
Insulin treatment for diabetes (the first therapy
derived from genetic engineering)
Growth
hormone Treatment of dwarfism
Interferon For treatment of some cancer + multiple
sclerosis?
Erythropoietin
Treatment of anaemia by stimulation of bone marrow cells to produce RBCs
Tissue To dissolve blood clots in victims of heart
attacks and, more recently, in plasminogen stroke
patients; tPA activates a whole cascade of processes to break down activator (tPA) blood clots
Hepatitis
B vaccine to vaccinate against this viral disease
V: Applications of biotechnology in
Environment
•
Environmental biotechnology is broad; it involves
cleaner manufacturing, using biological methods for diminishing chemical inputs
in agriculture, and having options for using cheap bioremediation processes
when the environment has become polluted, and new methods to treat waste
products
– Sewage treatment
•
Processes toxic domestic and industrial waste into less
harmful materials - H2O & sludge.
•
Organic wastes are degraded by the action of a complex
community of microbes.
…Applications of biotechnology in Environment
– Sewage treatment facilities
provide an optimised environment for these organisms to process the waste,
while at the same time allowing containment and monitoring of the process
•
Bioremediation
–
The process by which living organisms act to
degrade or transform hazardous organic
contaminants, or is exploiting microbes to degrade wastes and xenobiotics
–
Xenobiotic -
a (foreign = xeno) synthetic compound not normally found in nature. Examples
include: . Pesticides (Herbicides, Insecticides, Fungicides), Detergents and
Plastics and various other synthetic polymers
– Examples
of Microbes that utilize hydrocarbons:Pseudomonas
spp. – predominantly, Mycobacterium,
Nocardia, Some yeasts and molds
… Applications of biotechnology in Environment
•
Problem: Although microorganisms help in
bioremediation, they are not especially in a hurry.
•
Solution:
Relevant organisms are being studied to induce them to metabolize waste
faster.
•
Phytoremediation
– This refer
to the use of plants to clean or remediate contaminated soil or groundwater.
– Metal-hyper
accumulating plants, desirable for heavily polluted environments, can be
developed by the introduction of novel traits into high biomass plants in a
transgenic approach, which is a promising strategy for the development of
effective phytoremediation technology
… Applications of biotechnology in Environment
– The genetic
manipulation of a phytoremediator plant needs a number of optimization
processes, including mobilization of trace elements/metal ions, their uptake
into the root, stem and other viable parts of the plant and their
detoxification and allocation within the plant.
– Example:
Transgenic yellow poplar, a genetically engineered yellow poplar to transform
toxic mercury (mercury ion) to a much lesser toxicity and form of mercury known
as elemental mercury.
•
Indirect through its application in Agriculture
– Yield-increasing
innovations: Higher yield reduces the utilization of land and the selected use
of input and pollution (animal waste), thus benefiting the environment.
… Applications of
biotechnology in Environment
– Pest-resistant
varieties: These varieties reduce pest damage, increase yield, and may reduce
the use of damaging chemical pesticides and herbicide-resistant varieties,
while increasing profitability of low-tillage practices and reducing soil
erosion
VI: Applications
of biotechnology in Legal discipline
•
Any type of organism can be identified by
examination of DNA sequences unique to that specimen.
•
An individual DNA profile is highly distinctive
because many genetic loci are highly variable within a population.
•
To identify individuals, forensic scientists
scan DNA regions that vary from person to person and use the data to create a
DNA profile of that individual (DNA fingerprint).
•
There is an extremely small chance that another
person has the same DNA profile for a particular set of regions
•
Genetics fingerprinting is used for:
•
Identification of potential suspects whose DNA
may match evidence left at crime scenes
Application of
biotechnology in legal discipline
•
Exoneration of wrongly convicted persons
•
Identification of crime and catastrophe victims
•
Establishment of paternity and other family
relationships
•
Identification of endangered and protected species as
an aid to wildlife officials
•
Detection of bacteria and other organisms that may
pollute air, water, soil, and food
•
Matching of organ donors with recipients in transplant
programs
•
Determination of pedigree for seed or livestock breeds
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