Overview

1. What is Biotechnology?
Definitions of Biotechnology
Timeline of Biotechnology
Techniques used in Biotechnology
Who's Who in Biotechnology

2. How is Biotechnology being used?

Applications of Biotechnology
Medicines on the market today
Agriculture - GM Foods and Animals
DNA fingerprinting and forensic science
Gene Therapy and Transgenic Animals
Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Cloning

3. What are some of the societal issues Biotechnology

raises?
Bioethics / "Genethics"
Public attitudes to biotechnology - safety, awareness
Therapeutic uses of human genes and tissues

What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology = bios (life) + logos (study of or essence)
Literally the study of tools from living things
CLASSIC: The word "biotechnology" was first used in 1917
to describe processes using living organisms to make a
product or run a process, such as industrial fermentations.
(Robert Bud, The Uses of Life: A History of Biotechnology)
LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans began to
plant their own crops, domesticate animals, ferment juice
into wine, make cheese, and leaven bread
(AccesExcellence)

What is biotechnology?
GENENTECH: Biotechnology is the process of harnessing
'nature's own' biochemical tools to make possible new products
and processes and provide solutions to society's ills (G. Kirk
Raab, Former President and CEO of Genentech)

WEBSTERS: The aspect of technology concerned with the

application of living organisms to meet the needs and ends of
man.
WALL STREET: Biotechnology is the application of genetic engineering
and DNA technology to produce therapeutic and medical diagnostic products
and processes.
Biotech companies have one thing in common: the use of genetic engineering
and manipulation of organisms at a molecular level.

What is biotechnology?
According to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,
"Biotechnology is any technological application that
uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives
thereof, to make or modify products or processes for
specific use."

In other words,
Any technique that uses living organisms or substances from
those organisms or substances from those organisms to
make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals, or to
develop microorganisms for specific uses

What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinarian in nature,
involving input from

Engineering
Computer Science
Cell and Molecular Biology
Microbiology
Genetics
Physiology
Biochemistry
Immunology
Virology
Recombinant DNA Technology Genetic manipulation
of bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants and animals, often for
the development of specific products

What are the stages of biotechnology?

Ancient Biotechnology
early history as related to food and shelter, including
domestication
Classical Biotechnology
built on ancient biotechnology
fermentation promoted food production
medicine
Modern Biotechnology
manipulates genetic information in organism
genetic engineering

Ancient biotechnology
History of domestication and agriculture
Paleolithic society Hunter-gatherers Nomadic lifestyle due to migratory
animals and edible plant distribution (wild wheat and barley) (~2 x 10 6 yrs.)
Followed by domestication of plants and animals (artificial selection) People
settled, sedentary lifestyles evolved (~10,000 yrs. ago)
Cultivation of wheat, barley and rye (seed collections)
Sheep and goats milk, cheese, button and meat
Grinding stones for food preparation
New technology Origins of Biotechnology Agrarian Societies

History of domestication and agriculture History of domestication and agriculture History of domestication
and agriculture

Ancient biotechnology
Fermented foods and beverages
Long history of fermented foods since people
began to settle (9000 BC) (fervere to boil)
Often discovered by accident!
Improved flavor and texture
Deliberate contamination with bacteria or
fungi (molds)
Examples:

Bread
Yogurt
Sour cream
Cheese
Wine
Beer
Sauerkraut

Ancient Biotechnology
Fermented foods and beverages
Dough not baked immediately would undergo
spontaneous fermentation would rise
Eureka!!
Uncooked fermented dough could be used to
ferment a new batch no longer reliant on
chance fermentation
1866 Louis Pasteur published his findings on
the direct link between yeast and sugars CO2 +
ethanol (anaerobic process)
1915 Production of bakers yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Classical Biotechnology
Industry today exploits early discoveries of the fermentation
process for production of huge numbers of products
Different types of beer
Vinegar
Glycerol
Acetone
Butanol
Lactic acid
Citric acid
Antibiotics WWII (Bioreactor developed for large
scale production, e.g. penicilin made by fermentation
of penicillium)
Today many different antibiotics are produced by
microorganisms
Cephalosporins, bacitracin, neomycin,
tetracycline..)

Classical biotechnology
Chemical transformations to produce therapeutic
products
Substrate + Microbial Enzyme Product
Examples:
Cholesterol Steroids (cortisone, estrogen,
progesterone) (hydroxylation reaction -OH
group added to cholesterol ring)

Classical biotechnology
Microbial synthesis of other commercially valuable
products
Amino acids to improve food taste, quality or
preservation
Enzymes: (cellulase, collagenase, diastase,
glucose isomerase, invertase, lipase, pectinase,
protease) Products such as Lactaid and Beano
Vitamins
Pigments

Modern biotechnology
Cell biology
Structure, organization and reproduction
Biochemistry
Synthesis of organic compounds
Cell extracts for fermentation (enzymes
versus whole cells)
Genetics

Resurrection of Gregor Mendels findings 1866

1900s
Theory of Inheritance (ratios dependent on traits of
parents)
Theory of Transmission factors
W.H. Sutton 1902
Chromosomes = inheritance factors
T.H. Morgan Drosophila melanogaster

Modern biotechnology
Molecular Biology
Beadle and Tatum (Neurospora crassa)
One gene, one enzyme hypothesis
Charles Yanofsky colinearity
between mutations in genes and amino
acid sequence (E. coli)
Genes determine structure of proteins
Hershey and Chase 1952
T2 bacteriophage 32P DNA, not 35S protein
is the material that encodes genetic
information

Modern biotechnology
Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins (1953)
X-ray crystallography
Rosalind
Franklin

1962 Nobel Prize awarded to three men

Chargaff DNA base ratios
Structural model of DNA developed

DNA Revolution Promise and Controversy!!!

Scientific foundation of modern biotechnology
based on knowledge of DNA, its replication, repair and
use of enzymes to carry out in vitro splicing DNA
fragments

Modern Biotechnology
Breaking the Genetic Code Finding the Central
Dogma
An RNA Club organized by George Gamow (1954)
assembled to determine the role of RNA in protein
synthesis
Vernon Ingrams research on sickle cell anemia (1956)
tied together inheritable diseases with protein structure
Link made between amino acids and DNA

Radioactive tagging experiments demonstrate

intermediate between DNA and protein = RNA
RNA movement tracked from nucleus to cytoplasm site of
protein synthesis

Modern Biotechnology

DNA

Transcription

RNA

Protein

Translation

Genetic code determined for all 20 amino acids

by Marshal Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei
and Gobind Khorana Nobel Prize 1968
3 base sequence = codon

What are the areas of biotechnology?

Organismic Biotechnology:
Uses intact organisms and does not alter genetic
material
Molecular Biotechnology:
Alters genetic makeup to achieve specific goals
Transgenic organism: an organism with
artificially altered genetic material

What are the benefits of biotechnology?

Medicine
human
veterinary
biopharming

Environment
Agriculture
Food products
Industry and manufacturing

What are the applications of biotechnology?

Production of new and improved crops/foods, industrial chemicals,
pharmaceuticals and livestock
Diagnostics for detecting genetic diseases
Gene therapy (e.g. ADA, CF)
Vaccine development (recombinant vaccines)
Environmental restoration
Protection of endangered species
Conservation biology
Bioremediation
Forensic applications
Food processing (cheese, beer)

Transfer of new
genes into animal
organisms

Diagnostics

Cell
Culture

Monoclonal
Antibodies

Crime solving

Molecular
Biology

DNA
technology

Genetic
Engineering

Banks of
DNA, RNA
and proteins
Complete
map of the
human
genome

Anti-cancer drugs

Culture of plants
from single cells

Synthesis
of new
proteins

Mass prodn. of
human proteins
Resource bank
for rare human
chemicals

New types of
plants and
animals
New types
of food

Cloning

New
antibiotics

Synthesis of
specific DNA
probes

Localisation of
genetic disorders

Gene therapy

Discussion
What is the societal impression of biotechnology?
What are the negative impacts that biotechnology may have?
What are the potential ethical issues associated with
biotechnology?
Why

are

biotechnology

companies

targeted

by

anti-

globalisation protesters?
How can the image of biotechnology to the public be
improved? Should it be improved?
What are the potential dangers of biotechnology?