Understanding Biotechnology &

its Applications
Schedule:
Monday, Wednesday 11:00 AM 12:30 PM
Room #: A1-3

Tulika P. Srivastava (tulika@iitmandi.ac.in)

IIT Mandi B.Tech 2nd year 3rd Sem (Aug Nov 2015)

Why you are being taught this course?

Technology of hope
Applications in a wide range of fields to
improve our life style
Multidisciplinary
Biotechnology industries
are booming rapidly

What is the broad objective of this

course?
Broad objective of this course is to give an
introduction to biotechnology and its
applications in our daily life. This course will
help you to get familiarized with various
techniques that are used routinely towards
this.

What is the Syllabus?

Unit 1 (1 hr): Introduction to biotechnology and the history of biotechnological developments with
major milestones.
Unit 2 (3 hrs): Basic biology: Brief introduction to genes and genomes.
Unit 3 (5 hrs): Introduction to recombinant DNA technology and its application to genomics.

Unit 4 (4 hrs): Introduction to proteins and their products.

Unit 5 (5 hrs): Microbial biotechnology.
Unit 6 (5 hrs): Plant biotechnology.

Unit 7 (5 hrs): Animal biotechnology.

Unit 8 (5 hrs): Bioremediation and environmental biotechnology.
Unit 9 (5 hrs): Medical biotechnology.

Unit 10 (2 hrs): Biotechnology regulations and ethics.

Textbooks and References

Text Book:
Introduction to Biotechnology (3rd Edition) by William J.
Thieman and Michael A. Palladino published by BenjaminCummings publishing company.
Other References:

Biotechnology for Beginners by Reinhard Renneberg

published by Academic press.
Basic Biotechnology 3rd Edition by Ratledge Colin published
by Cambridge university press.

Credits Distributions for IC136

Quiz 1:
Quiz 2:
Tutorial 1:
Tutorial 2:
Final Exam:

20 %
20 %
5%
5%
50 %

What is Biotechnology?
"Any technological application that uses biological
systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to
make or modify products or processes for specific use.
Biotechnology is the manipulation of living organisms and
organic material to serve human needs.
Examples:
Yeast in bread making and alcohol production
Use of beneficial bacteria (penicillin) to kill harmful
organisms
Cloning of plants and animals
Improving rice quality

Biotechnology is drawn on
Pure biological sciences
(genetics, microbiology, animal cell culture,
molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology,
cell biology, etc.)
Knowledge and methods from outside biology
(chemical engineering, bioprocess
engineering, information technology, and
biorobotics, etc.)

Pioneers in Biotechnology

Antony van Leeuwenhoek

1675
Dutch tradesman
Father of Microbiolody
Discovered bacteria using
a simple microscope
Van Leeuwenhoek's main discoveries are:
the infusoria (protists in modern zoological classification), in 1674
the bacteria, (e.g., large Selenomonads from the human mouth), in
1676
the vacuole of the cell.
the spermatozoa in 1677. Van Leeuwenhoek had troubles with
Dutch theologists about his practice.
the banded pattern of muscular fibers, in 1682.[10]

Gregor Mendel
1863
Austrian monk who
conducted the first
genetics experiments using
pea plants in the mid
1800s.
Often considered the
founder of genetics.
Mendel summarized his
findings in two laws:
Law of Segregation
Law of Independent
Assortment.

Louis Pasteur
1870s
French Chemist and
Microbiologist
Disproved the notion of
spontaneous generation,
describing the role of bacteria in
spoilage (germ theory of
disease) and the scientific basis
for fermentation
Created the rabies vaccine

Robert Hooke
1665
Invented the compound light microscope
First to observe cells in cork
Mechanics
Gravitation
Microscopy
Palaeontology
Astronomy

James Watson & Francis Crick

1953
Englishmen responsible
for the discovery of the
double helix structure
of DNA using X-ray
diffraction data
generated by Rosalind
Franklin
Watson and Crick base
pairing
Nobel Prize in 1962

Paul Berg
1972
Stanford University scientist
who first developed
recombinant DNA technology,
a method for insertion of
genetic material from one
organism into another.
Used for the study of viral
chromosomes

Historical Development of
Biotechnology

1750 B.C.
Origins of biotechnology emerge in methods of
food production and plant and animal breeding

Domestication of animal for use as livestock

Selective breeding eg corn
Use of bacteria to produce cheese (food preservation)
Use of natural enzymes in yogurt
Use of yeast to produce bread
Use of fermentation for producing wine and beer

1869
DNA is discovered in trout sperm by Friedrich
Miescher, an eminent physiological chemist
from Basel, Switzerland
DNA was isolated, analyzed and recognized as
a unique macromolecule

1919
The word biotechnology is first used by a
Hungarian agricultural engineer Karl Ereky.

1928
Alexandar Flemming discovered and purified antibiotic
Penicillin
Discovered the mold Penicillium which inhibited the
growth of bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus.
Accidental discovery
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28,
1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all
medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic, or
bacteria killer," Fleming would later say, "But I suppose
that was exactly what I did."[2][5]

1940s-1950s
Widespread work is undertaken to investigate
the structure and function of DNA

1980
The U.S. Supreme
Court approved the
patenting of
genetically altered
organisms.

1980s-1990s
A variety of GMOs and biotechnology
techniques were introduced in fields from
agriculture to medicine
Recombinant DNA technology-extracts DNA from
one organism for use in another, allowing more
rapid and specific improvements in plants and
animals
Plant Tissue Culture-gains widespread acceptance as
a method to quickly and cheaply produce genetically
identical plants

1990s
First transgenic organisms (GMOs) were
introduced in widespread agricultural
production, particularly in the area of crops.
Bt corn and soybeans are introduced offering
natural insect resistance by the introduction of a
gene from the bacterium Baccillus thuringensis

1997
Dolly was the first animal cloned from diploid
cells, produced in Scotland

Late 1990s-Early 2000s

Human cloning
was outlawed in
the U.S. and the
first concerns over
the use of human
stem cells in
research began to
arise.

What is a cell?
Cell is the Structural and Functional unit of all organisms.

CELL THEORY
All living things are composed of cells and their products.
All cells arise from preexisting cells.
All cells are basically alike in composition and metabolic activities.
The function of an organism as a whole is the outcome of the
activities and interactions of the constituent cells.

Basic Cell Plan

Prokaryotes

Pro = Primitive, karyon = nucleus

Contain neither nucleus or
membrane-bound organelles
Archaebacteria and Monera

Basic Cell Plan

Eukaryotes
(Eu = true, karyon = nucleus)
Contain double membrane nucleus
and membrane-bound organelles
Protista, Fungi, Plants and Animals

PROKARYOTIC BACTERIAL CELL

CELL WALL
PLASMA MEMBRANE
NUCLEOID

CYTOPLASM

PLASMID DNA

FLAGELLUM

Cytoplasm Contents
The cytoplasm consists of water, nutrients and
important biomolecules necessary for
metabolism, growth and reproduction. These
include:
Carbohydrates

Fatty acids
Proteins Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Structures
Enzymes proteins that can catalyze biochemical reactions

RNA ribonucleic acid messenger RNA (mRNA); transfer

(tRNA);ribosomal RNA(rRNA)
Plasmids nonchromosomal genetic material (DNA)

RNA

CELL WALL
PLASMA
MEMBRANE

PLASTID

ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM
NUCLEUS
CHROMATIN

GOLGI BODY

NUCLEAR
MEMBRANE
MITOCHONDRIA

VACUOLE

PLANT CELL

Differences b/w Plant & Animal Cells

Animal Cell

Plant Cell

Cell wall:

Absent

Present

Shape:

Round (irregular shape)

Rectangular (fixed shape)

Vacuole:

One or more small

vacuoles (much smaller
than plant cells).

One, large central vacuole

taking up 90% of cell
volume.

Centrioles:

Present in all animal cells

Only present in lower plant

forms.

Chloroplast:

Animal cells don't have

chloroplasts

Plant cells have

chloroplasts because they
make their own food

Plastids:

Absent

Present

Plasma Membrane:

only cell membrane

cell wall and a cell

membrane

Lysosomes:

Lysosomes occur in
cytoplasm.

Lysosomes usually not

evident.

Cilia:

Present

It is very rare

All cells possess a plasma membrane

Plasma membrane has phospholipid bilayer
and embedded glycoproteins
a. Isolates cytoplasm from environment
b. Regulates molecular movement into and out of cell
c. Interacts with other cells/environment

The nucleus is eukaryotic cells genetic library which contains

most of the genes. Some genes are located in mitochondria
and chloroplasts.

The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane.

Space between membranes is called the nuclear envelope (NE).

 chromatin
DNA and associated proteins within the
nucleus organized into fibrous material.
In a normal cell chromatin appears as diffuse
mass.

chromosomes
When the cell prepares to divide, the
chromatin fibers coil up to be seen as separate
structures.
A typical human cell has 46 chromosomes, but
sex cells (eggs and sperm, or gametes) have
only 23 chromosomes.

 The nucleus directs protein synthesis by

synthesizing messenger RNA (mRNA).
The mRNA travels to the cytoplasm and
combines with ribosomes to translate its
genetic message into the primary structure
of a specific polypeptide.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

Manufactures membranes.
Performs a diversity of biosynthetic
functions.
Smooth ER looks smooth because it
lacks ribosomes.
Rough ER looks rough because
bound ribosomes are attached to the
outside, including the outside of the
nuclear envelope.
Rough ER is also a membrane factory.
Membrane bound proteins are
synthesized directly into the
membrane.
Enzymes in the rough ER also
synthesize phospholipids from
precursors in the cytosol.
Enzymes of smooth ER synthesize
lipids, including oils, phospholipids,
and steroids.
These includes the sex hormones of
vertebrates and adrenal steroids.
Enzymes in the smooth ER of the
liver help detoxify drugs and
poisons.

Golgi Complex
A center of
manufacturing,
warehousing, sorting,
and shipping.
packages proteins
inside the cell before
they are sent to their
destination;
it is particularly
important in the
processing of proteins
for secretion