PT BIOTECH

• Green or Vegetal Biotechnology


  Applied to agriculture processes
• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)


  Plants, animals, bacteria or fungi whose genes have been modified by genetic manipulation
• Genetically modified crops


  • More tolerant to stresses such as drought, cold, heat etc.
  • Pest-resistant and therefore less dependent on chemical pesticides
  • Help reduce post-harvest losses
  • Help increase the mineral usage by plants, thereby preventing early exhaustion of soil fertility
  • Have enhanced nutritional value
• Genetically modified crops


  • Vitamin A enriched rice
• Biotechnology Techniques


  • Genetic Engineering/rDNA Technology
  • Tissue Culture
  • Embryo Rescue
  • Somatic Hybridization
  • Molecular Gene-markers
  • Molecular Diagnostic
  • Vaccine
  • Micro-propagation
• Genetic engineering


  1. Using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology to alter the genetic makeup of an organism

  2. Traditionally, humans have manipulated genomes indirectly by controlling breeding and selecting offspring with desired traits
• Genetic engineering


  • Herbicide Tolerance (soybean)
  • Insect Resistance (corn)
  • Altered fatty acid composition (canola)
  • Virus resistance (plum)
• Tissue culture


  The growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism
• Tissue culture


  • oil palm, plantain, pine, banana, date, eggplant, jojoba, pineapple, rubber tree, cassava, yam, sweet potato, and tomato
• Embryo rescue


  One of the earliest and successful forms of in-vitro culture techniques used to assist in the development of plant embryos that might not survive to become viable plants, cultivating an embryo under aseptic conditions on a nutrient medium
• Somatic Hybridization


  Process of fusion of protoplasts of somatic cells obtained from different varieties or species of plant on a suitable nutrient medium in vitro to develop a somatic hybrid
• Somatic Hybridization


  • Somatic hybrid between potato and tomato is pomato
  • Bromato is a somatic hybrid of brinjal & tomato
• Molecular Gene-markers


  Fragment of DNA that is associated with a certain location within the genome. Molecular markers are used in molecular biology and biotechnology to identify a particular sequence of DNA in a pool of unknown DNA
• Molecular Diagnostic


  Tests that can detect specific sequences in plant DNA or RNA that may be associated with disease resistance, quality/agronomic traits and varietal issues. These diagnostic tests can be applied to early generation breeding material, or developed varieties, on a range of tissue types
• Vaccine


  Plant-based vaccine technologies involve the integration of the desired genes encoding the antigen protein for specific disease into the genome of plant tissues by various methods. Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer and transformation via genetically modified plant virus are the common methods that have been used to produce effective vaccines. Plant-based vaccine production mainly involves the integration of transgene into the plant cells. The target sequence of the selected antigen is integrated with the vector before being transferred into the expression system
• Micro-propagation


  Refers to the in vitro multiplication and/or regeneration of plant material under aseptic and controlled environmental conditions to produce thousands or millions of plants for transfer to the field. Micro-propagation helps in the propagation of a large number of plants in a very short time. The plantlets produced are healthy and with desired characteristics
• Products of Agricultural Biotechnology

  • Can make production cheaper and more manageable
  • Some crops can be engineered to tolerate specific herbicides, which make weed control simpler and more efficient
  • Other crops have been engineered to be resistant to specific plant diseases and insect pests, which can make pest control more reliable and effective, and/or can decrease the use of synthetic pesticides
• Biotechnology provides consumers with

  • Foods that are nutritionally-enriched or longer-lasting or that contain lower levels of certain naturally occurring toxicants present in some food plants
• Developers are using Biotechnology to

  • Reduce saturated fats in cooking oils
  • Reduce allergens in foods
  • Increase disease-fighting nutrients in foods
• Developers are using Biotechnology to

  • Research ways to use genetically engineered crops in the production of new medicine
  • Develop genetically engineered plants for phytoremediation to detoxify pollutants in the soil or absorb and accumulate polluting substances out of the soil
• Biotechnology may also be used to

  • Conserve natural resources
  • Enable animals to more effectively use nutrients present in feed
  • Decrease nutrient runoff into rivers and bays
  • Help meet the increasing world food and land demands
• Researchers are at work to produce

  • Hardier crops that will flourish in even the harshest environments
  • Crops that will require less fuel, labor, fertilizer, and water
  • Crops that will decrease the pressures on land and wildlife habitats
• Food biotechnology


  An umbrella term covering a vast variety of processes for using living organisms—such as plants, animals, microbes, or any part of these organisms—to develop new or improved food products, production of food constituents; flavors, aroma, food additives and an array of other high valued-enhanced products, genetically modified organisms and crops
• Food biotechnology examples


  • cornstarch, corn syrup, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, or granulated sugar
  • Potatoes, summer squash, apples, and papayas, milk, aspartame, zucchini
• New food crossbreeds


  • tangelos (orange and tangerine)
  • white and yellow sweet corn (field corn)
  • crunchy carrot (less crunchy carrot)
  • yellow tomato (red tomato)
  • broccoflower (broccoli and cauliflower)
  • honeyloupe (cantaloupe and honeydew melon)
• Benefits of biotechnology


  • Better tasting tomatoes year round (Biotech tomatoes soften slower, so they can stay on the vine longer before shipping, thereby gaining added taste and nutrients)
  • Environmentally friendly squash (Biotech generated squash plants that do not require chemical sprays to combat viruses will mean not only less overall chemical use in farming, but also increased availability and lower prices for crookneck squash)
  • Healthier cooking oils (Corn, soybeans, canola, and other plants could be modified to reduce the saturated fat content of cooking oils derived from these crops)
  • Herbicide-tolerant crops (Breeding herbicide, pesticide, and fungicide tolerant crops allow more selective application of agricultural chemicals)
• Biotechnology Food


  • Probiotics
  • Nutraceutical –compounds or natural substance with a preventive and therapeutic action (grapes, broccoli, soy, red wine, goat milk, etc. Botanical extract like ginseng, garlic oil)
  • Transgenic foods –produced from genetically engineered organisms
• Environmental Biotechnology


  A branch of biotechnology that addresses environmental problems, such as the genetic rescue of a species, the removal of pollution, renewable energy generation, or biomass production, all by using Biotechnology processes
• Environmental biotechnology


  The application of processes for the protection and restoration of the quality of the environment
• Environmental biotechnology can be used to

  Detect, prevent and remediate the emission of pollutants into the environment
• Solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes can be

  1. Modified by recycling to make new products

  2. Purified so that the end product is less harmful to the environment
• Objectives of Environmental Biotechnology

  • To adopt production processes that make optimal use of natural resources, by recycling biomass, recovering energy, and minimizing waste generation
  • To promote the use of biotechnological techniques with emphasis on bioremediation of land and water, waste treatment, soil conservation, reforestation, afforestation and land rehabilitation
  • To apply biotechnological processes and their products to protect environmental integrity with a view to long-term ecological security
• Bioremediation


  The productive use of microorganisms to remove or detoxify pollutants, usually as contaminants of soils, water, or sediments that otherwise intimidate human health
• Bioremediation

  • Bio-treatment
  • Bio reclamation
  • Bio-restoration
• Wastewater and Industrial Effluents


  Water pollution is a serious problem in many countries of the world. Rapid industrialization and urbanization have generated large quantities of wastewater that resulted in the deterioration of surface water resources and groundwater reserves
• Five Key Stages are Recognized in Wastewater Treatment

  1. Preliminary treatment - grit, heavy metals, and floating debris are removed

  2. Primary treatment - suspended matters are removed

  3. Secondary treatment - bio-oxidize organic materials by activities of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms

  4. Tertiary treatment - specific pollutants are removed (ammonia and phosphate)

  5. Sludge treatment - solids are removed (final stage)
• Aerobic Biological Treatment


  Trickling filters, rotating biological contactors or contact beds, usually consist of an inert material (rocks/ash/ wood/ metal) on which the microorganisms grow in the form of a complex biofilm. These have been used for more than 70 years for sewage and wastewater treatment. In these processes, the degradable organic matter is oxidized by the microorganisms to CO2 that can be vented to the atmosphere
• Activated Sludge Process


  This process is used for the treatment and removal of dissolved and biodegradable wastes, such as organic chemicals, petroleum refining wastes textile wastes, and municipal sewage. The microorganisms in activated sludge generally are composed of 70-90% organic and 10-30% inorganic matter
• Bacteria in Activated Sludge

  • Acinetobacter, Mycobacteria, Pseudomonas
• Yeasts in Activated Sludge

  • Cladosporium and Scolecobasidium