What is biotechnology?

Biotechnology = bios (life) + logos (study of or

essence)
Literally the study of tools from living things

CLASSIC: The word "biotechnology" was first used in
1917 to describe processes using living organisms to
make a product or run a process, such as industrial
fermentations. (Robert Bud, The Uses of Life: A
History of Biotechnology)

LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans began
to plant their own crops, domesticate animals,
ferment juice into wine, make cheese, and leaven
bread (AccesExcellence)



What is biotechnology?
GENENTECH: Biotechnology is the process of
harnessing 'nature's own' biochemical tools to make
possible new products and processes and provide
solutions to society's ills (G. Kirk Raab, Former
President and CEO of Genentech)

WEBSTERS: The aspect of technology concerned
with the application of living organisms to meet the
needs and ends of man.

WALL STREET: Biotechnology is the application of
genetic engineering and DNA technology to produce
therapeutic and medical diagnostic products and
processes. Biotech companies have one thing in
common - the use of genetic engineering and
manipulation of organisms at a molecular level.
What is biotechnology?
Using scientific methods with organisms to produce
new products or new forms of organisms

Any technique that uses living organisms or
substances from those organisms or substances from
those organisms to make or modify a product, to
improve plants or animals, or to develop
microorganisms for specific uses

What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinarian in nature,
involving input from

Engineering
Computer Science
Cell and Molecular Biology
Microbiology
Genetics
Physiology
Biochemistry
Immunology
Virology
Recombinant DNA Technology Genetic manipulation
of bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants and animals, often for
the development of specific products








What are the stages of biotechnology?
Ancient Biotechnology
early history as related to food and shelter,
including domestication

Classical Biotechnology
built on ancient biotechnology
fermentation promoted food production
medicine

Modern Biotechnology
manipulates genetic information in organism
genetic engineering








Different types of beer
Vinegar
Glycerol
Acetone
Butanol
Lactic acid
Citric acid
Antibiotics WWII (Bioreactor developed for large
scale production, e.g. penicilin made by fermentation
of penicillium)
Today many different antibiotics are produced by
microorganisms
Cephalosporins, bacitracin, neomycin,
tetracycline..)
Classical biotechnology
Industry today exploits early discoveries of the fermentation
process for production of huge numbers of products
Substrate + Microbial Enzyme Product

Examples:
Cholesterol Steroids (cortisone, estrogen,
progesterone) (hydroxylation reaction -OH
group added to cholesterol ring)
Classical biotechnology
Chemical transformations to produce therapeutic
products
Amino acids to improve food taste, quality or
preservation

Enzymes (cellulase, collagenase, diastase,
glucose isomerase, invertase, lipase, pectinase,
protease)

Vitamins

Pigments
Classical biotechnology
Microbial synthesis of other commercially valuable
products
Cell biology
Structure, organization and reproduction

Biochemistry
Synthesis of organic compounds
Cell extracts for fermentation (enzymes
versus whole cells)

Genetics
Resurrection of Gregor Mendels findings 1866
1900s
Theory of Inheritance (ratios dependent on traits of
parents)
Theory of Transmission factors

W.H. Sutton 1902
Chromosomes = inheritance factors

T.H. Morgan Drosophila melanogaster

Modern biotechnology
Molecular Biology

Beadle and Tatum (Neurospora crassa)
One gene, one enzyme hypothesis
Charles Yanofsky colinearity
between mutations in genes and amino
acid sequence (E. coli)
Genes determine structure of proteins

Hershey and Chase 1952
T2 bacteriophage
32
P DNA, not
35
S protein
is the material that encodes genetic
information

Modern biotechnology

Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins (1953)
X-ray crystallography
1962 Nobel Prize awarded to three men
Chargaff DNA base ratios
Structural model of DNA developed

DNA Revolution Promise and Controversy!!!

Scientific foundation of modern biotechnology
based on knowledge of DNA, its replication,
repair and use of enzymes to carry out in vitro
splicing DNA fragments

Modern biotechnology
Breaking the Genetic Code Finding the Central
Dogma

An RNA Club organized by George Gamow (1954)
assembled to determine the role of RNA in protein
synthesis

Vernon Ingrams research on sickle cell anemia (1956)
tied together inheritable diseases with protein structure
Link made between amino acids and DNA

Radioactive tagging experiments demonstrate
intermediate between DNA and protein = RNA
RNA movement tracked from nucleus to cytoplasm site of
protein synthesis

Modern biotechnology
DNA RNA Protein
Transcription Translation

Genetic code determined for all 20 amino acids by
Marshal Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei and Gobind
Khorana Nobel Prize 1968

3 base sequence = codon

Modern biotechnology
What are the areas of biotechnology?
Organismic biotechnology
uses intact organisms and does not alter genetic
material

Molecular Biotechnology
alters genetic makeup to achieve specific goals


Transgenic organism: an organism with artificially
altered genetic material








What are the benefits of
biotechnology?
Medicine
human
veterinary
biopharming

Environment
Agriculture
Food products
Industry and manufacturing









What are the applications of biotechnology?
Production of new and improved crops/foods,
industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and livestock
Diagnostics for detecting genetic diseases
Gene therapy (e.g. ADA, CF)
Vaccine development (recombinant vaccines)
Environmental restoration
Protection of endangered species
Conservation biology
Bioremediation
Forensic applications
Food processing (cheese, beer)






Monoclonal
Antibodies
Molecular
Biology
Cell
Culture
Genetic
Engineering
Anti-cancer drugs
Diagnostics
Culture of plants
from single cells
Transfer of new
genes into animal
organisms
Synthesis of
specific DNA
probes
Localisation of
genetic disorders
Tracers
Cloning
Gene therapy
Mass prodn. of
human proteins
Resource bank
for rare human
chemicals
Synthesis
of new
proteins
New
antibiotics
New types of
plants and
animals
New types
of food
DNA
technology
Crime solving
Banks of
DNA, RNA
and proteins
Complete
map of the
human
genome
Biotechnology Timeline
1750 BC The Sumerians brew beer.
500 BC Chinese use moldy soybean
curds as an antibiotic to treat
boils
1590 Janssen invents the microscope


1675 Leeuwenhoek discovers cells
(bacteria, red blood cells)
1830 Proteins are discovered
1833 The first enzymes are isolated
1855 The Eschirium coli bacterium
is discovered
Biotechnology Timeline
1859 Charles Darwin publishes On
the Origin of Species
1864 Louis Pasteur shows all living
things are produced by other
living things
1865 The age of genetics begins
1902 Walter Sutton coins the term
gene - proposed that
chromosomes carry genes
Biotechnology Timeline
1910 Chromosomal theory of
inheritance proved
1928 Fleming discovers antibiotic
properties of certain molds
1941 George Beadle and Edward Tatum propose
that one gene makes one protein
1949 Sickle cell anaemia demonstrated to be
molecular disease
Biotechnology Timeline
1952 The Waring Blender
experiment
1953 The double helix is unravelled
1967 The genetic code is cracked
1973 Recombinant DNA
technology begins
1975 First international conference
on recombinant DNA
technology
Biotechnology Timeline
1975 Monoclonal antibody
technology introduced
1975 DNA sequencing discovered
1978 Genentech Inc. established
1978 Genentech use genetic engineering to produce
human insulin in E.coli - 1980 IPO of $89
1978 Kary Mullis discovers PCR
Biotechnology Timeline
1989 The Human Genome Project begins
1990 First use of gene therapy
1990 First product of recombinant
DNA technology introduced
into US food chain
1993 FDA announces that
transgenic food is safe
1994 The FLAVRSAVR tomato -
first genetically engineered
whole food
Biotechnology Timeline
1996 First mammal cloned from adult
cells
1990s First conviction using genetic
fingerprinting
1996 Development of Affymetrix
GeneChip
1997 First artificial chromosome