Microbial Biotechnology

Agricultural Biotechnology

Animal Biotechnology

Forensic Biotechnology

Bioremediation
Types of Biotechnology
Aquatic Biotechnology

Medical Biotechnology

Nanobiotechnology

Environmental Biotechnology

Industrial Biotechnology
Color  classifica+on  of  Branches  of  Biotechnology  
Color   Area  of  Biotechnological  ac+vi+es  
Red   Health,  Medical,  Diagnos+cs  (responsible  for  the  development  of  an+bio+cs,  regenera+ve  
therapies  and  the  produc+on  of  ar+ficial  organs  etc)  

Green   Agricultural,  Environmental  Biotechnology  (Biofer+lizers,  Biopes+cides,  

Bioremedia+on)  

White   Industrial  Biotechnology  (Biofuels,  Enzymes)  

Yellow   Food  Biotechnology,  Nutri+on  Science  (fermenta+on  to  produce  cheese,  bread,  beer  
and  wine)  

Blue   Aqua+c  Biotechnology  (Aquaculture,  obtain  biofuels  from  certain  microalgae,  exploita+on  of  
sea  resources  to  create  products  and  industrial  applica+ons)  

Gray   Dedicated  to  environmental  applica+ons  and  focused  on  the  

maintenance  of  biodiversity  and  removal  of  pollutants  using  
biotechnological  approaches    
Gold   Bioinforma+cs  and  nanobiotechnology  
Dark   Bioterrorism  or  biological  weapons  and  biowarfare  which  uses  
microorganisms,  and  toxins  to  cause  diseases  and  death  in  humans,  
livestock  and  crops    
 Microbial  Biotechnology  
•  Microbes  are  minute  living  things  not  visible  to  naked  eye.  (bacteria,  
archaea,  protozoa,  algae,fungi,  viruses)  
•  Microorganisms  in  either  their  natural  state  or  gene+cally  modified  forms  have  
served  as  useful  tools    
•  the  use  of  yeast  for  making  beer  and  wine    
•  BePer  enzymes  produc+on  [DNA  polymerases,  restric+on  enzymes,  cellulase,  
proteases  (sub+llisin;  in  laundry  detergent)]  
•  micorganisms  for  making  many  foods  (Bread,  cheese,  Alcoholic  beverages,  vinegar,  
citric  acid  and  vitamins)  ,    
•  trea+ng  waste  water    
•  crea+ng  biofuels    
Microbes  are  used  to    
1.  make  vaccines    
2.  produce  clone    
3.  produce  batch  amounts  of  important  proteins  (insulin  and  growth  hormone)  
Microbial  biotechnologists    
•  Explore  strategies  to  detect  microbes  for  diagnos+c  purposes  in  humans,  food  
samples,  and  other  sources    
•  Developing  approaches  to  detect  and  combat  microbes  as  possible  bioweapons.    
 Agricultural  Biotechnology  
•  Agricultural  biotechnology,  also  known  as  agritech,  is  an  area  
of  agricultural  science  involving  the  use  of  scien+fic  tools  and  techniques,  
(gene+c  engineering,  molecular  markers,  molecular  diagnos+cs,  vaccines,  
and  +ssue  culture)  to  modify  plants  and  animals.  

•  gene+cally  engineered,  pest-­‐resistant  plants  that  do  not  need  to  be  
sprayed  with  pes+cides  to  foods  with  higher  protein  or  vitamin  content  
and  drugs  developed  and  grown  as  plant  products.    
•  Agricultural  biotechnology  provides  solu+ons  for  today’s  farmers  in  the  
form  of  plants  that  are  more  environmentally  friendly  while  yielding  more  
per  acre,  resis+ng  diseases  and  insect  pests,  and  reducing  farmers’  
produc+on  costs.    
•  plants  can  be  engineered  to  produce  a  wide  range  of  pharmaceu+cal  
proteins  in  a  broad  array  of  crop  species  and  +ssues.  The  use  of  plants  as  
sources  of  pharmaceu+cal  products  is  an  applica+on  of  agricultural  
biotechnology  commonly  called  molecular  pharming.    
 Animal  Biotechnology  
•  Animal  biotechnology  is  the  applica+on  of  molecular  
biology  tools  for  the  processing  or  produc+on  of  materials  
from  animals  to  provide  research  models  and  to  make  
healthy  products.    
•  Animal  biotechnology  has  been  used  to  produce  gene+cally  
modified  animals  that  synthesize  therapeu+c  proteins,  
have  improved  growth  rates  or  are  resistant  to  disease.  
•  Animals  can  be  used  as  “bioreactors”  to  produce  important  
products.  (goats,  caPle,  sheep,  and  chickens  engineered  to  
produce  an+bio+cs)  
•  Female  transgenic  animals  that  express  therapeu+c  
proteins  in  their  milk.    
•  Model  animals  (gene  knockouts)  
 Forensic  Biotechnology  
•  Forensic  are  scien+fic  tests  or  techniques  used  in  
connec+on  with  the  detec+on  of  crime    
•  Forensic  biotechnology  deals  with  the  study  and  
inves+ga+on  of  genomic  informa+on  for  the  
iden+fica+on  of  specific  signatures.  
•  Biotechnology  is  used  in  forensics  to  collect  or  process  
trace  evidence  such  as  hair,  skin,  blood  or  semen  
samples,  which  is  found  at  crime  scenes.  
•  An  important  aspect  of  modern  forensics  is  the  use  of  
DNA  profiling,  or  gene+c  fingerprin+ng.  
•  DNA  fingerprin<ng—  a  collec+on  of  methods  for  
detec+ng  an  organism’s  unique  DNA  paPern    
•  The  technique  of  DNA  fingerprin+ng  is  based  
on  the  analysis  of  two  types  of  highly  variable  
sequences  present  in  human  genome:    
•  VNTR  (  Variable  Number  Tandem  Repeats)  and  
•  STR  (Short  Tandem  Repeats).    
•  By  combining  the  informa+on  obtained  from  
the  analysis  of  more  VNTR  or  STR  regions  it  is  
possible  to  obtain  the  dis+nc+ve  profile  of  a  
person    
•  DNA  fingerprin+ng  has  many  other  applica+ons,    
1.  use  in  paternity  cases  for  pinpoin+ng  a  child’s  father  and  
iden+fying  human  remains.    
2.  DNA  fingerprin+ng  of  endangered  species.  This  has  
already  reduced  poaching  and  led  to  convic+ons  of  
criminals  by  analyzing  the  DNA  fingerprints  of  their  
“catches.”    
3.  to  track  and  confirm  organisms  that  spread  disease,  such  
as  Escherichia  coli  in  contaminated  meat,  and  
4.  to  track  diseases  such  as  AIDS,  meningi+s,  tuberculosis,  
Lyme  disease,  and  the  West  Nile  virus.    
•  Recently  a  French  company  even  developed  a  gene  
expression  test  designed  to  determine  if  expensive  
food  products  contain  cheap,  subs+tute,  mystery  
meats  from  species  such  as  cats  and  eels.    
 Bioremedia+on  
•  Bioremedia<on  is  a  branch  of  biotechnology  that  employs  the  use  of  living  
organisms,  like  microbes  and  bacteria,  in  the  removal  of  contaminants,  
pollutants,  and  toxins  from  soil,  water,  and  other  environments.  
•  u+lize  naturally  occurring  microorganisms,  such  as  bacteria,  fungi,  and  
yeast,  to  degrade  hazardous  substances  into  non-­‐toxic  or  less  toxic  
substances  
•  Bioremedia+on  is  being  used  to  clean  up  many  environmental  hazards  
that  have  been  caused  by  industrial  progress.    
•  Exxon  Valdez  oil  spill    
•  Exxon  Shipping  Company,  spilled  11  million  gallons  of  crude  oil  into  
Alaska's  Prince  William  Sound  on  March  24,  1989  
•  By  s+mula+ng  the  growth  of  oil-­‐degrading  bacteria,  which  were  already  
present  in  the  Alaskan  soil,  many  miles  of  shoreline  were  cleaned  up  
nearly  three  +mes  faster  than  they  would  have  been  had  chemical  
cleaning  agents  alone  been  used.    
 Aqua+c  Biotechnology  
•  The  applica+on  of  scien+fic  and  engineering  principles  to  the  processing  
or  produc+on  of  materials  from  aqua+c  species  to  provide  research  
models  and  to  make  healthy  products.    
•  One  of  the  oldest  applica+ons  of  aqua+c  biotechnology  is  aquaculture,  
raising  finfish  or  shellfish  in  controlled  condi+ons  for  use  as  food  sources.    
•  use  of  gene+c  engineering  to  produce  disease-­‐resistant  strains  of  oysters  
and  vaccines  against  viruses  that  infect  salmon  and  other  finfish.    
•  Transgenic  salmon  have  been  created  that  overproduce  growth  hormone,  
leading  to  extraordinary  growth  rates  over  short  growing  periods  and  thus  
decreasing  the  +me  and  expense  required  to  grow  salmon  for  market  sale    
•  Bioprospec<ng  efforts  are  ongoing  around  the  world  to  iden+fy  aqua+c  
organisms  with  novel  proper+es  that  may  be  exploited  for  commercial  
purposes.    
•  Novel  proper+es-­‐marine  bacteria,  algae,  shellfish,  finfish,  and  countless  
other  organisms  live  under  some  of  the  harshest  condi+ons  in  the  world    
•  Certain  species  of  marine  plankton  and  snails  have  been  found  to  be  rich  
sources  of  an+tumor  and  an+cancer  molecules.    
 Medical  Biotechnology  
•  The  applica+on  of  biotechnology  tools  for  producing  
medical  products  that  can  be  used  for  the  diagnosis,  
preven+on,  and  treatment  of  diseases.  
•  Development  of  therapy  using  cells  or  microorganisms  by  
employing  molecular  engineering  techniques.    
•  Designing  of  organisms  to  manufacture  pharmaceu+cal  
products  like  therapeu+c  proteins  (growth  hormones,  
insulin),  an+bio+cs,  vaccines,  regenera+ve  medicine,  and  
gene  therapy.    
•  Over  325  million  people  worldwide  have  been  helped  by  
drugs  and  vaccines  developed  through  biotechnology.    
•  An+bio+c,  recombinant  protein,  vaccine,  stem  cell  therapy,  
+ssue  engineering    
 Vaccines    
•  A  vaccine  is  a  biological  product  that  aims  to  
provide  acquired  immunity  for  a  par+cular  
disease.    
•  Generally,  a  vaccine  contains  the  en+re  
disease-­‐causing  pathogen  as  a  weakened  or  
killed  pathogen  or  only  their  toxins  or  their  
surface  proteins.    
•  These  agents  will  ac+vely  s+mulate  the  host  
immune  system  that  then  produces  a  
protec+ve  response  to  these  agents.    
 Types  of  vaccines  developed  thus  far  include  the  
following:    
 
•  Inac+vated  vaccine:  This  type  of  vaccine  contains  microorganisms  that  were  
inac+vated  or  destroyed  by  chemicals,  heat,  radia+on,  or  an+bio+cs.  Examples  
include  influenza,  cholera,  bubonic  plague,  polio,  hepa++s  A,  and  rabies  
vaccines.  
•  APenuated  vaccines:  This  type  of  vaccine  contains  live  microorganisms  that  
were  aPenuated.  Most  vaccines  in  this  type  are  aPenuated  viruses  such  as  
yellow  fever,  measles,  rubella,  and  mumps.  These  vaccines  may  not  be  safe  
for  use  in  immunocompromised  individuals.    
•  Toxoid  vaccines:  These  are  made  from  inac+vated  toxic  compounds.  For  
example,  tetanus  and  diphtheria  vaccines.  Not  all  toxoid  vaccines  are  against  
microorganisms;  some  are  generated  for  animals,  for  example,  Crotalus  atrox  
toxoid  is  used  to  vaccinate  dogs  against  raPlesnake  bites.    
•  Subunit  vaccines:  These  vaccines  are  derived  from  protein  subunits  
and  not  the  whole  microorganism.  Subunit  vaccines  can  include  
surface  proteins  (vaccine  against  Hepa++s  B  virus),  virus-­‐like  
par+cles  (vaccine  against  human  papillomavirus)  that  contains  viral  
major  capsid  protein,  or  the  hemagglu+nin  and  neuraminidase  
subunits  (vaccine  against  the  influenza  virus).    
•  Conjugated  vaccine:  Some  bacteria  contain  outer  coats  made  of  
poorly  immunogenic  polysaccharides.  By  linking  these  outer  coats  
to  proteins  (e.g.,  toxins),  the  immunogenicity  of  these  bacteria  can  
be  enhanced.  This  approach  is  used  in  the  Haemophilus  influenzae  
type  B  vaccine.    
•  DNA  vaccine:  These  vaccines  contain  DNA  sequences  derived  from  
viral  or  bacterial  DNA.  DNA  vaccines  cannot  directly  induce  an  
immune  response.  When  the  DNA  sequences  are  translated  to  a  
func+onal  protein  in  animal  or  human  cells,  they  can  evoke  an  
immune  response.  The  immune  system  recognizes  these  proteins  
and  aPacks  the  virus  or  bacteria  containing  these  proteins.  
 NanoBiotechnology  
•  Nanobiotechnology  is  a  discipline  in  which  tools  or  techniques  from  
nanotechnology  are  developed  and  applied  to  study  the  field  of  biology.    
•  Nanotechnology  is  an  area  of  science  involved  in  designing,  building,  and  
manipula+ng  structures  at  the  nanometer  scale.    
•  A  nanometer  (nm)  is  one  billionth  of  a  meter.  For  reference,  a  human  hair  
is  approximately  200,000  nm  in  diameter.  
•  nanodevice  sensors  to  monitor  blood  pressure,  blood  oxygen  levels,  and  
hormone  concentra+ons  as  well  as  nanopar+cles  that  can  unclog  blocked  
arteries  and  detect  and  eliminate  cancer  cells.    
•  Many  companies  are  working  on  nanotechnologies  to  develop  innova+ve  
ways  to  improve  drug  delivery  techniques  and  maximize  their  
effec+veness.    
•  Microspheres,  nanopar+cles  between  1  to  100  nm  in  size  that  can  be  filled  
or  coated  with  drugs,  may  be  one  way  to  improve  drug  delivery  and  
effec+veness.  These  par+cles  are  oken  made  of  lipid  materials  that  closely  
resemble  the  phospholipids  in  cell  membranes.  Delivery  of  microspheres  
as  a  mist  sprayed  into  the  airways  through  the  nose  and  mouth  has  been  
used  successfully  for  trea+ng  lung  cancer  and  other  respiratory  illnesses  
such  as  asthma,  emphysema,  tuberculosis,  and  flu    
•  microspheres  called  liposomes  are  used  in  gene  therapy.    
 Environmental  Biotechnology  
•  Biotechnology  is  applied  to  and  used  to  study  the  
natural  environment.    
•  to  harness  the  biological  process  for  commercial  use  
and  exploita+on.    
•  The  Interna+onal  Society  for  Environmental  
Biotechnology  defines  environmental  biotechnology  as  
“the  development,  use  and  regula+on  of  biological  
systems  for  remedia+on  of  contaminated  
environments  (land,  air,  water),  and  for  environment-­‐
friendly  processes  (green  manufacturing  technologies  
and  sustainable  development).”    
 Industrial  Biotechnology  
•  the  applica+on  of  biotechnology  for  industrial  purposes  
such  as  manufacturing  of  biomolecules,  enzymes  or  
chemicals,  and  biomaterials.    
•  It  includes  the  prac+ce  of  using  cells  or  components  of  cells  
like  enzymes  to  generate  industrially  useful  products.    
•  It  uses  living  cells  from  yeasts,  molds,  bacteria,  plants,  and  
enzymes  to  synthesize  products  that  are  easily  degradable,  
require  less  energy,  and  create  less  waste  during  their  
produc+on.  
•  Some  examples  include  the  designing  of  an  organism  to  
produce  a  useful  chemical  and  the  use  of  enzymes  as  
industrial  catalysts  to  either  produce  valuable  chemicals  or  
destroy  hazardous/pollu+ng  chemicals.    
•  White  biotechnology  consumes  fewer  resources  (compared  
to  the  tradi+onal  processes)  to  produce  industrial  goods