Applications

• Biotechnology is an integrated branch of biology which deals with the techniques of using living organisms and enzymes to make products and processes useful to humans
• Importance of GM plants

  • Tolerance to abiotic stresses
  • Reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers
  • Decline post-harvest losses
  • Increased mineral uptake efficiency
  • Enhanced nutritional value
• bio pesticides


  an application of biotechnology in agriculture is the production of pest-resistant plants which could decrease the amount of pesticides being used
• green revolution


  the application of genetic engineering with crop based agriculture gave rise to a successful series of research, development, and technology transfer.
• The plants , bacteria, fungi and animals whose genes have been altered by manipulation are called Genetically Modified Organisms
• the vaccines produced through genetic engineering methods are called recombinant vaccines or second generation vaccines
• stem cells are the biological cells that are capable not only of renewing themselves via mitosis, but also of differentiating into specialized cells
• embryonic stem cells are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts and the undifferentiated cells of embryo of 5-6 months
• Adult stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside different tissues, like brain
• applications of stem cell technology

  • treatment of diabetes
  • treatment of leukemia
  • treatment of cardiac tissue damage
  • treatment of alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis
  • organ repair and replacement
• gene therapy


  It is a collection of methods which allows correction of a gene defect that has been diagnosed in a child or embryo
• recombinant DNA technology


  it is a modern molecular diagnostic technique that is carried out in steps
• Enzyme Linked Immune Sorbent Assay


  this diagnostic method relies upon the principle of antigen-antibody interaction
• ELISA - Enzymes Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay
• animals that have had their DNA manipulated to possess and express an extra gene are known as transgenic animals
• Several benefits of transgenic animals:

  • Normal physiology and development
  • Study of disease
  • Biological products
  • Vaccine safety
  • Chemical safety testing
• patent 


  It is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to the inventors or their assignee to prevent others from commercial use of their invention
• biopiracy 


  the theft of genetic resources that are indingenous to a country
• C-peptide is not present in mature insulin, as it is removed during its maturation
• insulin is made me up of 51 amino acids, arranged in two short polypeptide chains: chain A with 21 amino acids and chain B with 30 amino acids, that are linked together by disulphide bridges
• chain A and B were produced separated, extracted and combined by creating disulphide bonds to form human insulin which is called as humulin
• Insulin made from the pancreas of slaughtered pigs and cows caused allergic reactions
• RNAi is the phenomenon of inhibiting activity of gene by synthesis of RNA molecules complementary to the mRNA
• Rosie is the name of the first transgenic cow
• The recombinant DNA technological processes have made immense impact in the area of healthcare by enabling mass production of safe and more effective therapeutic drugs
• Genetic modifications has made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses, reduced reliance on chemical pesticides, helped to reduce post harvest losses, increased efficiency of mineral usage by plants, enhanced nutritional value of food
• Bacillus thuringiensis produces proteins that kills lepidopterans, Coleoptera and Dipterans
• lepidopterans- tobacco budworm, armyworm
• coleopterans- beetles
• dipterans - flies, mosquitoes
• the vector used to introduce new genes into plant cells is most often a plasmid from soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens

  since the plasmid possesses genes that transfer the DNA from plasmid and gets integrated into host it is called natural genetic engineer
• The process of producing somatic hybrids is called somatic hybridisation
• somatic hybrid is a hybrid cell formed by the fusion of somatic cells of two varieties or species
• Pomato is a somatic hybrid between potato and tomato
• Bomato is a somatic hybrid between brinjal and tomato
• PCR is used to detect HIV in suspected AIDS patients
• The only successful transfection technique in cattle is micro injection of fertilised ovaries, which may either be recovered surgically or may be obtained from ovaries extracted from slaughtered cows and cultured in vitro
• Chief objectives of transgenic cattle

  • increased milk production
  • Increased meat production
  • Molecular farming