Current Scenario of Biotechnology and Its Application
Current Scenario of Biotechnology and Its Application
PROJECT REPORT
A survey to study “positioning strategy for pulsar and its effect”
I hereby declare that this project that report entitled a survey to study
“Current scenario of biotechnology and its application”
The project work has been prepared by me under the guidance of Mr. Rohit C
Kalaskar director.
Place: Hubli
Date:
(Mahendra. S)
CERTIFICATE
Finally thanks to Mr.Rohit C kalaskar Sir without his moral support this could not
have been a great success for me.
INDEX
1. Introduction
2. History of biotechnology
3. Biotechnology as a science
4. Applications of biotechnology
a. Bioinformatics
b. Medicine
c. Agriculture
INTRODUCTION
Agriculture clearly fits the broad definition of "using a biological system to make
products" such that the cultivation of plants may be viewed as the earliest
biotechnological enterprise. . The processes and methods of agriculture have been
refined by other mechanical and biological sciences since its inception. Through
early biotechnology, farmers were able to select the best suited and highest-yield
crops to produce enough food to support a growing population. Other uses of
biotechnology were required as crops and fields became increasingly large and
difficult to maintain. Specific organisms and organism by-products were used to
fertilizer, restore nitrogen, and control pests. Throughout the use of agriculture,
farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing
them to new environments and breeding them with other plants—one of the first
forms of biotechnology. Cultures such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt and India
developed the process of brewing beer. It is still done by the same basic method of
using malted grains (containing enzymes) to convert starch from grains into sugar
and then adding specific yeasts to produce beer. In this process the carbohydrates
in the grains were broken down into alcohols such as ethanol. Ancient Indians also
used the juices of the plant Vulgarism and used to call it Soma. Later other cultures
produced the process of Lactic acid fermentation .which allowed the fermentation
and preservation of other forms of food. Fermentation was also used in this time
period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not
fully understood until Louis Pasteur’s work in 1857, it is still the first use of
biotechnology to convert a food source into another form.
The field of modern biotechnology is thought to have largely begun on June 16,
1980, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a genetically-modified
microorganism could be patented in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty.[3] Indian-
born Ananda Chakrabarty, working for General Electric, had developed a
bacterium (derived from the Pseudomonas genus) capable of breaking down crude
oil, which he proposed to use in treating oil spills.
Rising demand for bio fuels is expected to be good news for the biotechnology
sector, with the Department of Energy estimating ethanol usage could reduce U.S.
petroleum-derived fuel consumption by up to 30% by 2030. The biotechnology
sector has allowed the U.S. farming industry to rapidly increase its supply of corn
and soybeans—the main inputs into biofuels—by developing genetically-modified
seeds which are resistant to pests and drought. By boosting farm productivity,
biotechnology plays a crucial role in ensuring that biofuel production targets are
met.
Biotechnology as a science:
Bio technological methods have led to the organisms that improve food quality
and consistency, or that clean up oil spills and heavy metals in fragile ecosystems.
Tissue culture has produced plants that are increasing crop yields by providing
farmers with healthier planting material. Marker assisted selection and DNA finger
printing allow a faster and much more targeted development of improved
genotypes for all living species. They also provide new research methods which
can assists in the conservation and characterization of biodiversity.
Some improvements were also made in food crops such as cotton, rice etc these
are the genetically modified crops.
.
1). Pest resistance: high risk of pesticides residues have made consumers afraid of
eating pesticide treated crops. Growing some GM crops may eliminate the
application of chemical pesticides as experienced in the use of BT gene in cotton
and maize.
2). Herbicide tolerance: it is not cost effective to remove weeds by physical means.
Farmers spend large amount of money spraying large quantities of herbicides to
control weeds, a time consuming and expensive process, crop plant genetically
engineered.
4). Drought tolerance/salinity: as the world population grows and more land
utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in
places not necessarily suitable for cultivation. Thus, creating plants that can
withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil and groundwater will
help people to grow crops where they were not formerly suitable.
6). Pharmaceuticals: medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and
sometimes require special storage conditions. Genetically engineered plants can be
developed with edible vaccines in them.
• Blue biotechnology is a term that has been used to describe the marine
and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.
•
MEDICINE
2. Genetic testing: involves the direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. A
scientist scans a patient’s DNA sample for mutated sequences.
There are two major types of gene tests. In the first type, a researcher may design
short pieces of DNA (“probes”) whose sequences are complementary to the
mutated sequences. These probes will seek their complement among the base pairs
of an individual’s genome. If the mutated sequence is present in the patient’s
genome, the probe will bind to it and flag the mutation. In the second type, a
researcher may conduct the gene test by comparing the sequence of DNA bases in
a patient’s gene to disease in healthy individuals or their progeny.
Genetic testing is used for:
The tests currently available can detect mutations associated with rare genetic
disorders like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and Huntington’s disease.
Gene therapy may be used for treating, or even curing, genetic and acquired
diseases like cancer and AIDS by using normal genes to supplement or replace
defective genes or to bolster a normal function such as immunity. It can be used to
target somatic (i.e., body) or gametes (i.e., egg and sperm) cells. In somatic gene
therapy, the genome of the recipient is changed, but this change is not passed along
to the next generation. In contrast, in germ line gene therapy, the egg and sperm
cells of the parents are changed for the purpose of passing on the changes to their
offspring.
bone marrow are removed and grown in the laboratory. They are then
exposed to a virus carrying the desired gene. The virus enters the cells, and
the desired gene becomes part of the DNA of the cells. The cells are allowed
to grow in the laboratory before being returned to the patient by injection
into a vein.
2. In vivo, which means “inside the body” – No cells are removed from the
patient’s body. Instead, vectors are used to deliver the desired gene to cells
in the patient’s body.
Currently, the use of gene therapy is limited. Somatic gene therapy is primarily at
the experimental stage. Germ line therapy is the subject of much discussion but it
is not being actively investigated in larger animals and human beings.
Fig; Gene therapy Fig: Gene testing
Application of
biotechnology in agriculture
Plants, bacteria, fungi and animals whose genes have been altered by manipulation
are called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). GM plants have been useful in
many ways. Genetic modification has:
(I) made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses (cold, drought, salt, heat)
(v) Enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g., Vitamin ‘A’ enriched rice
Specific BT toxin genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis and incorporated
into the several crop plants such as cotton. The choice of genes depends upon the
crop and the targeted pest, as most BT toxins are insect-group specific. The toxin is
coded by a gene named cry. There are a number of them, for example, the proteins
encoded by the genes cryIAc and cryIIAb control the cotton bollworms, that of
Cry IAb controls corn borer.
Fig. Cotton boll: (a) destroyed by bollworms; (b) a fully mature
Cotton boll
Findings:
1. To find out how biotechnology works in the different sectors
2. To find out its current scenario
3. Its application in the different departments
CONCLUSION: