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THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY. Melaine Randle, B.Sc. ( Hons ), PhD. Candidate The Biotechnology Centre. What Is Biotechnology?. Manipulation of living organisms, systems to develop products. Term coined by Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky in 1919.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

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  1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY Melaine Randle, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD. Candidate The Biotechnology Centre

  2. What Is Biotechnology? • Manipulation of living organisms, systems to develop products. • Term coined by Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky in 1919. • Field integrates knowledge from biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology and chemical engineering. • Includes genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology and development of pharmaceutical, diagnostic tests.

  3. History • Used in agriculture, food production and medicine for thousands of years. • Bred productive animals to make stronger and more productive offsprings. • Fermentation: yeast cells to raise bread dough, ferment alcoholic beverages. • Microbial cultures; bacterial cells used to make cheeses and yogurts.

  4. History Weizmann (1917), C. acetobutylicum corn starch acetone explosives (WWI). Clostridium acetobutylicum Antibiotics: Penicillium notatum (Alexander Flemming, 1928). Penicillin (Florey, Chain, Heatley). Medicinal use (1940). Penicillium notatum

  5. Applications • Medical • Drug production (eg. Insulin, antibiotics) • Pharmacogenomics (genetic inheritance and response to drugs) • Gene Therapy (replace defective genes) • Genetic testing for diseases eg. Down’s Syndrome, Amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus sampling.

  6. Applications • Chemical Industry • Production of bulk chemicals eg. Ethanol, citric acid, acetone, butanol • Synthesis of enzymes, amino acids, alkaloids • Food Industry • Production of baker’s yeast, cheese, yogurt, soy sauce, flavours, colouring agents • Brewing and wine making

  7. Applications • Agriculture • Crop yield • Reduce vulnerability of crops to environmetal stresses • Increased nutritional qualities • Improved taste, texture or appearance of food • Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides • Production of novel substances in crops • Animal Biotechnology

  8. Applications • Environment • Bioremediation of soil and water polluted with chemicals • Treatment of sewage and other organic waste • Recovery of heavy metals from industrial sources

  9. BiotechnologyTechniques • DNA Isolation • DNA Amplification • DNA Cloning • Restriction Enzyme Digestion • Gel Electrophoresis • DNA Sequencing

  10. DNA Isolation

  11. DNA Amplification • Polymerase Chain Reaction • Kary Mullis (1986) • Creates millions of copies of specific DNA sequence synthetically via thermal cycler • Materials needed: • DNA template • dNTPs (dinucleotide triphosphates) • Taq DNA Polymearse • Primers • Reaction buffer (+ sterile water)

  12. PCR Steps Denaturation Annealing Extension

  13. DNA Cloning

  14. Restriction Enzyme Digestion • Restriction enzymes • Short nucleotide sequences • (4-8 bp) • Recognize and cleave DNA • at specific sites

  15. Gel Electrophoresis • Separation and size determination of DNA fragments • Gel (agarose / polyacrylamide) in buffer • Electrical voltage • DNA moves from – electrode to + electrode

  16. Gel Electrophoresis DNA on gel visualized under UV exposure after ethidium bromide staining (carcinogenic) DNA Fragments on Agarose Gel

  17. DNA Sequencing • Dideoxy chain termination method (Sanger, 1975); Maxam and Gilbert Chemical Cleavage method • Currently – automated sequencing • Array of nucleoide bases in a sequence of DNA

  18. DNA Sequencing • Theory similar to Sanger Sequencing • 4 different dNTPs tagged with 4 different • fluorescent dyes in single tube • All 4 tagged dNTPselectrophoresed on • a gel in one lane • Fragments still separate by size but show • as coloured bands • Colours have different wavelengths read • by computer • Computer translates colours into order of • nucleotides

  19. Automated Sequencing Chromatogram / spectrograph

  20. Controversial Biotech Advances • Flavr savr tomato (Calgene) approved for commercial sale (1994) Flavr Savr Tomatoes

  21. Controversial Biotech Advances • Cloning of Dolly, the sheep (1996) • First mammal cloned from adult somatic cells Dolly

  22. Controversial Biotech Advances • Embryonic Stem Cells Grown (James Thomson,1998) Human Stem Cell Culture

  23. Controversial Biotech Advances • Human genome project (2000) • Map 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA (2003) • Potential benefits - better understanding of human evolution, how to better treat diseases

  24. Biotech Concerns • Harm to Environment – effect of GMOs on ecosystem • Bioterrorism- terrorists create new Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins, which are incurable • Lab or production safety – concern for lab techs when working with organisms of unknown virulence. • Ethical issues – is cloning sacrilegious?

  25. Biotech Earnings • Several Biotech companies worldwide • Earnings exceed USD billions annually. • B$10 in 3rd quarter 2005 for just 25 biotech companies • Monsanto earned B$8.3 in 2008 • US AgBiotech earned M$107.5 (1993), earned B$10 (2000) • AgBiotech earned B$100 (2010) • Herbal Biotech B$8

  26. Biotechnology in Jamaica • Biotechnology Centre (University of the West Indies) • Scientific Research Council • Coconut Industry Board

  27. The Biotechnology Centre - UWI • Established in 1989 • Develop the research capabilities and training programmes in biotechnology (post-graduate students)

  28. BTC – Current Projects • Plant tissue culture • indigenous medicinal plant bank • Production of disease-free yam (Dioscorea sp) plantlets • Improvements in micro-propagation methods

  29. BTC- Projects • Plant genetic transformation • Resistance to Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) Production of papaya for human consumption, either fresh or processed Cornell University, USA & UWI, Jamaica Papaya

  30. BTC- Projects • Plant Genetic Transformation • Resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV-Is) Production of tomatoes for human consumption, either fresh or processed UW-Madison, Hebrew Univ., UWI TYLCV

  31. BTC - Projects • Plant molecular virology • Molecular diagnostics based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique had been developed for detecting geminiviruses, lethal yellowing (LY) phytoplasma, and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV)

  32. Career Possibilities • Biotechnology companies • Major drug companies (biotechnology divisions). • Chemical companies with large agricultural chemical businesses also have substantial biotechnology labs • Researcher; Chemist; Research Assistant • Lab Tech

  33. Education and Training • Bachelor's degree • most scientists say it is necessary to have a Ph.D. to be given the responsibility to do creative work

  34. Conclusion • Biotechnology offers great promise in: • Improving the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary diseases • Formulation and manufacture of safer drugs • Production of environmentally friendly herbicides and pesticides • Improvement in microbial processes to clean up the environment Making these promises a reality require effort and revision of several assumptions

  35. Thank You

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