What is Biotechnology?

1. An ever expanding set of biological techniques or tools

2. Tools are applied for the development of new knowledge, but also products or services.

3. Can involve any organism (bacteria, plants, yeast/fungi, animals, humans).

4. Biotechnology is a big industrial sector

5. Intersects with bioengineering, food technology, health delivery, agriculture, biodiversity

preservation, etc

Plant or crop biotechnology is not the same as genetic engineering (GMOs)

“Biotech crops” or “biotech microbes” are produced by recombinant DNA technology. Such organisms have unique properties and their release into the environment is subject to special regulations.

GMO Genetically modified organism

Biotech crops, biotech foods

Genetically engineered food

The methods of biotechnology are universally applicable to microbes,

animals and plants

• Genome sequencing

• Gene expression profiling

• Identification of biomarkers

• Fermentation technology

• High-troughput screening

• Bioinformatics

• Cell culture

Agricultural or plant biotechnology has many facets.

• Use of genetic markers to accelerate plant breeding.• Selection of microbes that live symbiotically with

plants (e.g. nitrogen fixers).• Metabolic flux engineering to enhance the production

of specific chemicals in plants or in tissue culture.• Diagnostics for pathogens or toxins• Creation of biopesticides and bioherbicides• Creation of crop varieties or biomass varieties with

specific application in agriculture or industry.

Guauyle, a native of the desert of Chichuahua is

the source of hypo-allergenic latex

(latex with a very low

protein content)

Finding interesting chemicals in unusual plants!

Biopesticides: an under-developed $ 100 million market

Eden Bioscience developedMessenger, a protein that activates the natural plantdefense pathways.

A model for the biopesticide industry:More local development and production

Bt Biopesticide

Pathogen diagnostics

• Potato: PVX, PVY, PVA, PVS, PVV, TSWV and Ralstonia solanacearum• Plum tree, Peach tree, nectarine, apricot tree, cherry tree and Prunus

spp. ornamentals: Plum pox virus (PPV)• Tomato and pepper: PepMV, ToMV, TSWV, TYLCV• Geranium: R. solanacearum and Xanthomonas hortorum pv pelargonii• Ornamentals (also a wide range of fruit trees and horticultural): INSV,

TSWV, CMV• Beetroot: BNYVV y BYV

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Finding smart green chemicals: high trough-put screening.

1. Chemical library2. Specific assay3. Detectors4. Data storage5. Robots

Most agrochemicals are very broad spectrum; kill many species of insects or nematodes; can we find species-specific chemicals?Start with genes (e.g. encoding receptors active in importantsignal transduction pathways) and then screen chemical libraries for chemicals that interact with the receptor.

Biological diversity:All human beings have the same genes, but we

all have very slight differences in many

genes (SNPs). Similarly, individual plants of a species differ slightly.

Some of these differences are

important, but how do we find them?

Estimating biological diversity:Finding new alleles.

Modern maize is a descendent of teosinte, a plant with multiple stems, very small ears with few seeds encased in a

hard shell.

It is likely that domestication occurred in a relatively small region (a few villages)and that teosinte grew in a larger area. Genetically this means that alleles ofmany genes are present in the wild populations of teosinte now growing in Mexico,but these alleles are not in domesticated corn.

Wild species Early domesticates Modern varieties

Figure 1

Loss of genetic diversity (alleles) as a result of domestication,selection and plant breeding.

Alleles are variants of the DNA sequence at a specific locus. They can be due to small deletions, insertions or base changes. They may or may not

have an effect on the phenotype. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs or “snips”)

are single base changes. They can be easily identified once the genome has been sequenced.

Change of a single base occurs about every 500 bases. Most of these replacements have no effect (they are

outside a gene, or produce a silent mutation).

Other snips impart a different activity to the gene. Some snips show up as changes in phenotype (human

disease, plant resistant to infection, a more or less efficient enzyme for example)

Mass characterization of alleles by detection of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in a 100,000 plants annually.

Courtesy of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Company

A. In the field, a technician samples a leaf with a hole-punch puttingthe leaf disc immediately in a plastic tube with DNA-extracting solutionwhich is put in a rack (B). C. After extracting the DNA, a robot samples 144 tubes simultaneously and transfers aliquots to filters that are hybridized with

nucleotide probes (D). Spots have different intensities depending on sequence.

Lycopersicum esculentum

Lycopersicum peruvianum

X

One of the many progeny is bigger!

Finding interesting genes in wild relatives

Genome SequencingImportant genes identified in one species (Arabidopsis or rice)can immediately be recognized in other species. All this information is public.

Expression ProfilingDetermine the expression of thousands of genes at once on a “chip”

Proteomics

Genomics, the most recent genetic technology

Making a linkage map with molecular markers permits acceleration of breeding because plants carrying the desirable gene (between the flags!) can be identified as seedlings. No need to wait for the phenotype to show up in the field.

Gene mapping andMarker assisted selection (MAS)

Genetic engineering of plants (creation of GMOs) relies on a natural gene transfer mechanism by

Agrobacterium tumefaciens from its Ti plasmid to the plant genomic DNA.

Discovered by Marc Van Montagu and Jeff Schell in Belgium and by Mary Dell Chilton and Eugene Nester in the USA

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Crops expressing the Bt gene (Cry) require fewer pesticide applications, which is better for the environment and saves the

farmer money.

The entire GM crop business is driven by two genes: for insect

resistance and herbicide tolerance

Herbicide tolerant crops promote conservation tillage.

Plants are left on the field to decay more slowly than if they are mixed with the topsoil. Water is conserved (less evaporation

and stubble retains more snow on the field.). Less soil compaction from heavy machinery. Less dust (dust is a serious

pollutant).Less work! It saves the farmer money!

Biotech Crops - Planted by 7 million Farmers in 18 countries in 2003

Biotech Crops - Planted by 7 million Farmers in 18 countries in 2003

canola

cotton

corn

soy

Million Acres

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

200

Forec

ast

Forec

ast

Benefits Drive Global Expansion of GM crops. >10% annual growth since 1996 introduction

Annual impact of current and potential biotech products on US agriculture Pesticide Reduction

46 M lbs actual 117 M lbs potential

Food and Fiber Supply 4 B lbs actual 10 B lbs potential

Economic Return $1.5 B actual Additional $1.0 B potential

Source: Gianessi et al., 2002. NCFAP (National Center of Food and Agricultural Policy)

Potential: Represents the added impact of products in the development pipeline

Source: C. James, 2003. ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications)