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.Field integrates knowledge from

biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology and chemical engineering.

Includes genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology and development of pharmaceutical, diagnostic tests.

HistoryUsed 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.

History

Clostridium acetobutylicum

Weizmann (1917), C. acetobutylicum corn starch acetone explosives (WWI).

Antibiotics: Penicillium notatum (Alexander Flemming, 1928). Penicillin (Florey, Chain, Heatley). Medicinal use (1940).

Penicillium notatum

ApplicationsMedical

◦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.

ApplicationsChemical 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

ApplicationsAgriculture

◦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

Environment◦Bioremediation of soil and water

polluted with chemicals◦Treatment of sewage and other

organic waste◦Recovery of heavy metals from

industrial sources

Applications

Biotechnology Techniques

DNA IsolationDNA AmplificationDNA CloningRestriction Enzyme DigestionGel ElectrophoresisDNA Sequencing

DNA Isolation

DNA AmplificationPolymerase 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)

PCR Steps

(a)Denaturation(b)Annealing(c)Extension

DNA Cloning

Restriction Enzyme Digestion

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

Gel Electrophoresis

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

Gel Electrophoresis

DNA on gel visualized under UV exposure after ethidium bromide staining (carcinogenic)

DNA Fragments on Agarose Gel

DNA SequencingDideoxy chain termination

method (Sanger, 1975); Maxam and Gilbert Chemical Cleavage method

Currently – automated sequencing◦Array of nucleoide bases in a

sequence of DNA

DNA Sequencing

• Theory similar to Sanger Sequencing• 4 different dNTPs tagged with 4 different fluorescent dyes in single tube• All 4 tagged dNTPs electrophoresed 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

Automated Sequencing

Chromatogram / spectrograph

Controversial Biotech Advances

Flavr savr tomato (Calgene) approved for commercial sale (1994)

Flavr Savr Tomatoes

Cloning of Dolly, the sheep (1996)◦First mammal cloned from adult somatic cells

Controversial Biotech Advances

Dolly

Embryonic Stem Cells Grown (James Thomson,1998)

Controversial Biotech Advances

Human Stem Cell Culture

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

Controversial Biotech Advances

Biotech ConcernsHarm to Environment – effect of GMOs

on ecosystemBioterrorism- 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?

Biotech EarningsSeveral Biotech companies worldwideEarnings exceed USD billions annually.B$10 in 3rd quarter 2005 for just 25

biotech companiesMonsanto earned B$8.3 in 2008US AgBiotech earned M$107.5 (1993),

earned B$10 (2000)AgBiotech earned B$100 (2010)Herbal Biotech B$8

Biotechnology in Jamaica

Biotechnology Centre (University of the West Indies)

Scientific Research Council

Coconut Industry Board

The Biotechnology Centre - UWI

Established in 1989

Develop the research capabilities and training programmes in biotechnology

(post-graduate students)

BTC – Current ProjectsPlant tissue culture

◦indigenous medicinal plant bank◦Production of disease-free yam

(Dioscorea sp) plantlets ◦Improvements in micro-propagation

methods

BTC- ProjectsPlant genetic transformation

◦Resistance to Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) Production of papaya for human consumption, either fresh or processed Cornell University, USA & UWI, Jamaica

Papaya

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

BTC- Projects

TYLCV

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)

Career PossibilitiesBiotechnology companies Major drug companies

(biotechnology divisions). Chemical companies with large

agricultural chemical businesses also have substantial biotechnology labs◦Researcher; Chemist; Research

Assistant◦Lab Tech

Education and TrainingBachelor's degree

◦most scientists say it is necessary to have a Ph.D. to be given the responsibility to do creative work

ConclusionBiotechnology 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

Thank You