Biotechnology Fundamentals

Firdos Alam Khan

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781498723459
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medizin
• Subtopic: Biotechnologie in der Medizin

A single source reference covering every aspect of biotechnology, Biotechnology Fundamentals, Second Edition breaks down the basic fundamentals of this discipline, and highlights both conventional and modern approaches unique to the industry. In addition to recent advances and updates relevant to the first edition, the revised work also covers ethics in biotechnology and discusses career possibilities in this growing field.

The book begins with a basic introduction of biotechnology, moves on to more complex topics, and provides relevant examples along the way. Each chapter begins with a brief summary, is illustrated by simple line diagrams, pictures, and tables, and ends with a question session, an assignment, and field trip information. The author also discusses the connection between plant breeding, cheese making, in vitro fertilization, alcohol fermentation, and biotechnology.

Comprised of 15 chapters, this seminal work offers in-depth coverage of topics that include:

• 
  
  

• Genes and Genomics
• Proteins and Proteomics
• Recombinant DNA Technology
• Microbial Biotechnology
• Agricultural Biotechnology
• Animal Biotechnology
• Environmental Biotechnology
• Medical Biotechnology
• Nanobiotechnology
• Product Development in Biotechnology
• Industrial Biotechnology
• Ethics in Biotechnology
• Careers in Biotechnology
• Laboratory Tutorials

Biotechnology Fundamentals, Second Edition provides a complete introduction of biotechnology to students taking biotechnology or life science courses and offers a detailed overview of the fundamentals to anyone in need of comprehensive information on the subject.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Biotechnology

Learning objectives

• Define biotechnology.

• Discuss the historical perspectives of biotechnology.

• Explain the classifications of biotechnology based on its applications.

• Explain how biotechnology has revolutionized the healthcare, agricultural, and environmental sectors.

• Explain how biotechnology became the science of integration of diverse fields.

• Explain the rule of ethical issues on biotechnology.

1.1 What is biotechnology?

Before we discuss what biotechnology is, let us quickly learn the differences between bioscience and biotechnology. Bioscience is the science of studying the fundamentals of living organisms (bacteria or viruses), which include structure and functions, whereas biotechnology deals with the use of living organisms for making useful products, for example the use of bacteria and viruses in making antibiotics and vaccines, respectively. Thus, we can say that bioscience teaches us the internal organization of a living organism, whereas biotechnology teaches us how these living organisms are used for human benefits. Interestingly, although the fruits of biotechnology are so evident in everyday life, we sometimes do not realize the benefits, for example, when we eat yogurt or receive a vaccine. Not everyone is aware of the formal definition of biotechnology, but one thing is certain: we all have benefited from the products of biotechnology such as cheese, detergents, biodegradable plastics, and antibiotics.

Knowing how these useful products are developed and provided to us is important. To really appreciate the benefits of biotechnology, the best example we can give is the making of cheese. One may argue that cheese making is no big deal since it can be found in almost every city in the world. In addition, what is the relationship between cheese making and biotechnology? Yes, there is a relationship if you know the different ingredients that are required for making cheese. Let us first learn how to make cheese at home, which will give us a fair idea about cheese making, and then we can learn how to make cheese at the industrial level.

Cheese making at home:

1. Place one cup of milk in a saucepan, and slowly bring the milk to a boil while stirring constantly. It is very important to constantly stir the milk or it will burn.

2. Turn off the burner once the milk is boiling, but leave the saucepan on the element or gas grate.

3. Add vinegar to the boiling milk, which should turn the milk into curd and whey.

4. Stir well with a spoon and let the mixture sit on the element for 5-10 min

5. Pass the curd and whey through cheesecloth or a handkerchief to separate the curd from the whey.

6. Press the cheese using the cloth to get as much of the moisture out.

7. Open the cloth and add a pinch of salt if desired.

8. Mix the cheese and salt and then press again to remove any extra moisture.

9. Put the cheese in a mold or just leave it in the form of a ball.

10. Refrigerate for a while before eating.

Now you know how to make a small amount of cheese at home; in the same way, if you want to make a large amount of cheese (thousands of pounds), you have to add acid-like vinegar and sometimes bacteria. These starter bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid. The same bacteria and the enzymes they produce play a large role in the eventual flavor of aged cheese. Most cheeses are made with starter bacteria from the Lactococci, Lactobacilli, or Streptococci families. Swiss starter cultures include Propionibacterium shermanii, which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles during aging, giving Swiss cheese (or Emmental) its holes (Figure 1.1). You may now fairly know the application of microorgan-isms in the industrial production of cheese, but the role of microorgan-isms is not limited to cheese making. They have multiple applications in other products as well, such as curd and antibiotics. It is now easier to define biotechnology as “the application of microorganisms in industrial level cheese making.”

1.1.1 Definitions of biotechnology

In general, biotechnology is a field that uses biological systems or living organisms to manufacture products or develop processes that ultimately benefit humans. Some of the most commonly used definitions of biotechnology are as follows:

• The use of living organisms (especially microorganisms) in industrial, agricultural, medical, and other technological applications.

• The application of the principles and practices of engineering and technology to life sciences.

Figure 1.1 Schematic Representation of Cheese Making in Industry.

• The use of biological processes to make products.

• The production of genetically modified organisms or the manufacture of products from genetically modified organisms.

• The use of living organisms or their products to make or modify a substance. Biotechnology includes recombinant DNA techniques (genetic engineering) and hybridoma technology.

• A set of biological techniques developed through basic research and applied to research and product development.

• The use of cellular and biomolecular processes to solve problems or make useful products.

• An industrial process that uses biological systems to make monoclonal antibodies and genetically engineered recombinant proteins.

We should not debate on which of the given definitions is true because all of them are true in their respective ways. For example, if you ask a farmer what biotechnology is, he or she may say “biotechnology is to produce high-yield or pest-resistant crops.” If you pose the same question to a doctor, he or she may say “biotechnology is about making new vaccines and antibiotics.” If you ask an engineer, he or she may say “biotechnol-ogy is about designing new diagnostic tools for better understanding of human diseases,” and if you ask a patient suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he or she may say “biotechnology is about stem-cell-based therapy and has tremendous capability to cure Parkinson’s disease.” All these different definitions of biotechnology suggest that biotechnology has immensely influenced our daily life with arrays of products. As the field of biotechnology keeps expanding, efforts are being made to subclassify this field into various types. The field of biotechnology may be broadly sub-classified into animal, agricultural, medical, industrial, and environmental biotechnology.

1.2 Animal biotechnology

Animal biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing or production of materials from animals or aquatic species to provide research models and to make healthy products. Some examples of animal biotechnology are generation of transgenic animals (animals with one or more genes introduced by human intervention), use of gene knockout technology to generate animals with a specified gene inactivated, production of nearly identical animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer (also referred to as clones), and production of infertile aquatic species. Since the early 1980s, methods have been developed and refined to generate transgenic animals. For example, transgenic livestock and transgenic aquatic species have been generated with increased growth rates, enhanced lean muscle mass, enhanced resistance to disease, or improved use of dietary phosphorous to lessen the environmental impacts of animal manure. Transgenic poultry, swine, goats, and cattle have also been produced to generate large quantities of human proteins in eggs, milk, blood, or urine, with the goal of using these products as human pharmaceuticals. Some examples of human pharmaceutical proteins are enzymes, clotting factors, albumin, and antibodies. The major factor limiting the widespread use of transgenic animals in agricultural production systems is the relatively inefficient rate (success rate <10%) of production of transgenic animals.

With the help of genetic tools, a specific gene in animals can be knocked out or inactivated. This technology is commonly known as knockout technology. It has created a possible source of replacement organs from the animals that can be used for human benefits. The process of transplanting cells, tissues, or organs from one species (animal) to another (human) is referred to as xenotransplantation. Currently, pigs are considered a viable source for xenotransplantation in humans. But since pig tissues do not match human cells, the human body rejects such tissues/organs. The reason for this rejection is the expression of a carbohydrate epitope (alpha-1,3-galactose) on the surface of pig cells, which is not normally found in human cells. Upon transplantation of pig cells, humans can generate antibodies to this epitope, which will result in acute rejection of the xenograft. Research work is being done to minimize the immune rejection, and with the help of genetic engineering, it is now possible to either knock out or inactivate the pig gene (alpha-1,3-galactosyl transferase) that attaches this carbohydrate epitope on pig cells. Ano...