Introduction to Biotechnology – History, Scope and Importance

Introduction To Biotechnology: What do you mean by Introduction to Biotechnology? Biotechnology is a combination of biology and technology, and hence the name Biotechnology. Biotechnology is the application of technology to use, change, or improve a component or the entire biological system for the benefit of industry and human welfare. This article covers the different fields of Biotechnology and much more. To know more interesting facts about Introduction to Biotechnology, scroll down the article.

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a field of applied science that makes products and processes out of living organisms and their derivatives. Healthcare, medicine, biofuels, and environmental safety all use these products and processes.

History of Biotechnology

1. People have been utilising biotechnology methods for thousands of years, although they did not call their profession biotechnology.
2. In \(1919\), Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky used the term “biotechnology” to define a technology that involves turning raw materials into a more valuable product.
3. Ancient Egyptians used fermenting techniques based on a knowledge of microbiological activities that occur in the absence of oxygen.
4. Fermentation techniques were also used by Egyptians to make the dough rise during bread-making. More than \(50\) types of bread were available in Egypt more than \(4,000\) years ago.
5. Egyptians also bred geese and cattle in the wetter areas of the Nile Valley to fulfil their society’s nutritional and dietary demands.
6. Later studies revealed that yoghurt is created by the activity of yeast added to milk, which is likewise biotechnology because it employs a microbe for human benefit.
7. People have utilised selective breeding to enhance crop and livestock production in order to feed themselves. Organisms with desired traits are mated to generate offspring with the same qualities in selective breeding. 

Modern Biotechnology

i. The Second World War proved to be a significant barrier to scientific progress. Following the conclusion of the second world war, numerous extremely important findings were published, paving the way for contemporary biotechnology and its current status.
ii. J D Watson and F H C Crick solved the puzzles surrounding DNA as genetic material for the first time in 1953 by presenting a structural model of DNA, widely known as the “Double Helix Model of DNA.” This model was able to explain a variety of DNA replication events, as well as its involvement in heredity.

Fig: DNA Structure

iii. Dr Hargobind Khorana was able to manufacture DNA in a test tube, and Karl Mullis added value to Khorana’s finding by amplifying DNA in a test tube to a thousand times its original amount. 
iv. Other scientists were able to introduce foreign DNA into another host and even monitor the transmission of foreign DNA into the following generation using this technological innovation.
v. Ian Wilmut, an Irish scientist, succeeded in cloning a sheep in \(1997\) and called the cloned sheep “Dolly.”
vi. The Human Genome Project finished sequencing the human genome in \(2003\).
vii. Boyer used biotechnology to isolate a gene for insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels) from the human genome in \(1978\). He then implanted it into bacteria, which enabled the gene to generate more insulin for diabetics.

 Fig: Human Insulin

viii. Modern biotechnology provides products and solutions to treat uncommon diseases, decrease our environmental impact, feed the poor, utilise less and cleaner energy, and improve industrial production processes. There are currently:
a. Patients have access to more than \(250\) biotechnology health care items and vaccinations, many of which are for diseases that were previously untreatable.
b. Agricultural biotechnology is used by more than \(13.3\) a million farmers across the world to enhance yields, minimise insect damage, and lessen the environmental effect of farming.
c. Across North America, more than \(50\) biorefineries are being developed to test and enhance methods for producing biofuels and chemicals from renewable biomass, which can help decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Fields in Biotechnology

Biotechnology has benefited human existence in a variety of ways through innovations that have made life easier for him. Biotechnology benefits several scientific disciplines by providing products for their progress.

A. Genetic Engineering

1. Genetic engineering, often known as genetic modification, is the use of biotechnology to directly manipulate an organism’s DNA.
2. Genes are the chemical blueprints for an organism’s characteristics. The characteristics are transferred when genes are moved from one organism to another.
3. Organisms can be given specific combinations of new genes, and therefore novel combinations of characteristics that do not exist in nature and, indeed, cannot be created by natural methods through genetic engineering. 
4. This is in contrast to traditional plant and animal breeding, which works by selecting features of interest over many generations.

 Fig: Genetic Engineering

B. Tissue culture 

i. Tissue culture is a biological research approach that involves transferring segments of tissue from an animal or plant to an artificial environment where they may survive and function. 
ii. A single cell, a population of cells, or a full or part of an organ can all be cultured. Cells in culture can proliferate, alter size, shape, or function, perform specialised tasks (muscle cells, for example, can contract), and interact with other cells.

Fig: Tissue Culture

C. Cloning 

Cloning is the process of creating a genetically identical copy of another cell, tissue, or organism. A clone is a material that has been duplicated and has the same genetic composition as the original. Dolly, a Scottish sheep, was the most famous clone.

Cloning may be divided into three categories:

a. Gene cloning: Gene cloning is the process of making copies of genes or DNA segments.
b. Reproductive cloning: Reproductive cloning is the process of making duplicates of entire animals.
c. Therapeutic cloning: Embryonic stem cells are created by therapeutic cloning. Researchers aim to employ these cells to produce healthy tissue in the human body to replace sick or injured parts.

Fig: Cloning – Dolly

Applications of Biotechnology

1. Biotechnology is currently employed in a variety of fields, including bioremediation, energy generation, and agricultural processing.
2. In forensic science, DNA fingerprinting is used.
3. Insulin manufacturing and other biotech-based medications are made by cloning vectors containing the desired gene.
4. Immuno Acids are widely used in medicine to improve medication efficacy, as well as by farmers to reduce pesticide, herbicide, and other toxin levels in crops and animal products.
5. Using genetic engineering, biotech offers a lot of potential in agriculture for producing insect- and disease-resistant plants.
6. Also used in the chemical sector as:
   a. Fermentation is a method for making organic compounds.
   b. High-purity chemical production.
   c. Use of a low-energy method.

Scope and Importance of Biotechnology

A. Plant Biotechnology

1. Biotechnology boosts agricultural pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, and the adoption of more ecologically friendly farming techniques.
2. Creating crops with improved nutritional profiles to address vitamin and nutrient deficiency.
3. Producing allergen-and toxin-meals.
4. Increasing crop yields while reducing inputs.
5. Reducing the number of agricultural chemicals used by crops and limiting product run-off into the environment.
6. Using biotech crops that require fewer pesticide applications.
7. Viruses, bacteria, Amoeba, fungus, and other microbes are used to manage plant diseases and insect pests.

B. Medical Biotechnology

1. Biotechnology is assisting in the healing of the planet by utilising nature’s toolbox and our own genetic composition. 
2. Infectious illness rates are being reduced thanks to biotechnology.
3. Providing different therapies to reduce health risks and negative effects.
4. Developing more accurate disease detection techniques Combating severe diseases and other challenges that the poor world faces on a daily basis.
5. Improving the nutritional value of foods and agricultural oils in order to enhance cardiovascular health.
6. Human insulin, human and bovine growth hormone, human interferon and other important medicines have been synthesised.
7. DNA fingerprinting is used to identify parents and offenders.

C. Industrial Biotechnology

1. Improving the efficiency of the manufacturing process.
2. Reducing petrochemical consumption and dependence.
3. Biofuels are being used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Reduced water use and trash creation.
5. Antibiotics such as Penicillin, Erythromycin, Streptomycin, Mitomycin, Cycloheximide, and others are manufactured.
6. Single cell proteins (SCP) derived from bacteria, yeast, fungus, or algae for human and animal use (as supplements).
7. Enzyme immobilisation for repetitive industrial use.

D. Animal Biotechnology

1. In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer are used to create test-tube babies in humans.
2. The output of transgenic animals for improved milk generation, growth rate, illness resistance, and the production of important proteins in milk, urine, and blood.
3. Superovulation and/or embryo splitting caused by hormones in farm animals; includes embryo transfer and, in many situations, in vitro fertilization.

E. Environmental Biotechnology

1. Deodorization of human excreta and efficient sewage treatment.
2. The process of breaking down contaminants in soil, air, or groundwater using organisms, generally bacteria.
3. Petroleum degradation and oil spill control.
4. Waste and industrial effluent detoxification.

Drawbacks of Biotechnology 

A. Ethics 

1. For decades, people have been debating the ethics of biotechnology. The main point of contention is the morality of various research and development techniques. 
2. Cloning, stem cell research, xenotransplantation, foetal tissue usage, and genetic alteration of species are all ethical problems.

B. Uncertainty 

1. The greatest worry about biotechnology is the lack of knowledge about its long-term consequences. 
2. In many cases, the immediate benefits are obvious, but they may have unintended consequences in the future, either directly or indirectly.

C. Cost 

1. Balancing the advantages of biotechnology with the costs, particularly in the realm of medicine, is a difficult task. 
2. In terms of investment, the value of biotech products is frequently underestimated due to a failure to account for risk and product development times, resulting in a poorer return on investment. 
3. Biotech products have always been more expensive and inconvenient than alternatives.

Summary

Biotechnology is still improving the way we live today, and it is doing it in a more responsible way. Crop modification is killing the essence of natural farming. Genetically modified organisms have the potential to damage the natural environment. Biotechnology has resulted in a broad and virtually limitless range of useful biotechnology products that help us live longer, healthier lives and have a more plentiful and sustainable food supply. Humanity has reached this degree of comfort thanks to biotechnology. Biotechnology has both positive and negative aspects.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Introduction to Biotechnology

Q.1. Who is the father of biotechnology?
Ans: Karl Ereky, a Hungarian agricultural engineer, coined the term ‘biotechnology’ in \(1919\). He is regarded by some as the “father” of biotechnology. 

Q.2. Who is the father of genetic engineering?
Ans: Paul Berg is the “father of genetic engineering”.

Q.3. What is modern biotechnology?
Ans: Biotechnological approaches for manipulating genetic material and cell fusion beyond conventional breeding barriers are referred to as modern biotechnology. 

Q.4. Which is the first cloning vector?
Ans:  The first cloning vector is plasmid pBR322.

Q.5.  What is a vector in biotechnology?
Ans: A vector is a DNA molecule that is used to transport foreign genetic material into another cell so that it can be reproduced and/or expressed (e.g., plasmid, cosmid, Lambda phages). Recombinant DNA is a vector that contains foreign DNA.

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