Scope and importance of biotechnology

The term biotechnology is used to refer to wider range of procedures for modifying biological organisms
according to the needs of humanity.
Biotechnology combines disciplines like genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, and cell
biology, which are in turn linked to practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology,
and biorobotics.
Applications of Biotechnology
Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical), crop
production and agriculture, non-food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g., biodegradable
plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses.
A series of derived terms have been coined to identify several branches of biotechnology, for example:
1. Bioinformatics involves solving biological problems using computational techniques, and makes the rapid
organization and analysis of biological data. This field may also be referred to as computational biology.
Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as genomics, proteomics, and pharmaceutical sector.
2. Blue biotechnology is a term that has been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of
biotechnology.
3. Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. It involves the designing of transgenic
plants to grow under specific environmental conditions or in the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural
chemicals.
An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external
application of pesticides. An example of this would be Bt corn.
4. Red biotechnology is applied to medical processes. Some examples are the designing of organisms to produce
antibiotics, gene therapy, and production of vaccines.
5. White biotechnology is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an
organism to produce enzymes as industrial catalysts to either produce valuable chemicals or destroy
hazardous/polluting chemicals.

Branches of Biotechnology
A. Agricultural Biotechnology
Biotechnology has helped to improve the quality and quantity of crops thus, benefiting food production.
Some application of biotechnology in crop improvement are:
a. Improved malting quality of crops by gene transfer.
b. One or two genes may be transferred to a crop to produce a better variety with improved yield.
c. Herbicide resistant genetically engineered crop to resist the toxic effect of weed killer.
d. Pest resistant Bt crops such as cotton, tomato, wheat, rice and many more.
e. Biofertilisers: Genes from certain micro-organisms which can absorb gaseous nitrogen and
phosphorus directly from the atmosphere and make it available to the plants have been introduced into
the crop plants to supply nitrogen and phosphorus. Materials containing such organisms are called
biofertilisers. Some of the biofertilisers are Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum Blue-green algae,
Azolla etc
e. Production of genetically modified crops which can tolerate environmental stresses like drought and
excessive salinity.
f. Increased nutritional qualities of food crops. Proteins in legumes and cereals may be transformed to
provide the amino acids needed by human beings for a balanced diet. A good example is the Golden
rice.
g. Modem biotechnology has been used to delay the ripening of tomato. It has increased the shelf-life.
It has also improved the taste and appearance of the fruit. It represents the first genetically modified
food. It is called the Flavor Savor tomato.
h. Some ornamental plant such as gladioli, orchids and bougainvillea which have tremendous export
value has been achieved by the technique of micropropagation.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium that produces a toxic Cry-protein. The toxin occurs as an inactive
protoxin, which requires digestion by an insect to be effective. There are several Bt toxins and each one is
specific to certain target insects. Crop plants have now been engineered to contain and express the genes for Bt
toxin, which they produce in its active form. When a susceptible insect ingests the transgenic crop cultivar
expressing the Bt protein, it stops feeding and soon thereafter dies as a result of the Bf toxin binding to its gut
wall.
B. Medical Biotechnology
(i) Health and Medicine: Medical biotechnology is also known as red biotechnology, and deals with the
development of new diagnostic and therapeutic. For example:
a. Development of humulin for the treatment of diabetes.
b. Development of interferons for fighting against the viral diseases.
c. Development of monoclonal antibodies treatment of cancer
d. Stem cell technology for treatment of some degenerative disorders.
(ii) Gene Therapy: Gene therapy involves the introduction of a therapeutic gene into the affected individual.
It is useful for the treatment of various diseases such as Alzheimer disease, coronary disease, cystic
fibrosis, prostate cancer, liver carcinogenesis, SCID and HIV.
(iii) Vaccinology: New vaccines, based on recombinant DNA technology are being developed for a variety
of diseases such as AIDS, malaria and COVID.
Several DNA-vaccine clinical trials for a variety of pathogens and cancers are under the research
process.
Biotechnologists are also developing plan-based edible vaccines.
(iv) Biotechnology and Animals: Biotechnology not only benefits humans but animals too.
a. With the help of animals, biotechnology companies have been able to produce several drugs and
vaccines. which have protected our family pets, livestock, and poultry from many diseases.
b. Biotechnology has developed diagnostic kits and breeding programs to eliminate hereditary diseases in
animals.
c. Biotechnology has provided new techniques for advancement in the quality of milk, eggs and meat which
reduces the environmental impact of agriculture.
d. Biotechnology has helped to protect endangered species from extinction

C. Nano Biotechnology
Nano technology is the study, manufacture and manipulation of any small structure or machine which are in
nanoscale range. Conversion of any material in nanoscale results in alteration of its mechanical,
physicochemical, and biological, properties. This technique is being applied for management of animal
husbandry, poultry, and fisheries to uplift the economy.
(i) Nanobiotechnology for Agriculture: Major areas identified in agriculture sector includes Food preservation
and toxicity, Nanopesticides, Nanofertilizers, and abiotic stress management.
(ii) Nanobiotechnology for Healthcare: The nanobiotechnology has a promising role to innovate generation of
advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for important diseases. Examples:
• Development of protein nanomedicine for treatment of liver and renal cancer.
• Development of Carbon Nanospheres as a brain targeting vehicle useful in drug delivery and imaging for
Alzheimer's disease.
• Development of targeted delivery system to reduce pathologies associated with chronic
inflammation. The product under development minimizes exposure to toxic pesticides through skin
contact and inhalation, during the spraying of pesticides. This is of relevance to the farming community.
• Biochips: These are DNA based processors which use DNAs to store information.

D. Industrial Biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology is one of the most promising new approaches to pollution prevention, resource
conservation, and cost reduction. It is often referred to as the third wave in biotechnology. In industrial
 biotechnology we use living cells (such as bacteria, yeast, algae) or their enzymes to develop new industrial
products and new processes. For example:
(i) Microbes (yeast) or enzymes are used to produce beer and wine as well as dairy products such as
cheese.
(ii) The enzyme subtilisin is obtained from the bacterium Bacillus subtilis for meat tenderising.
(iii) Biodegradable plastics have been produced by genetic engineering.
(iv) Fossil fuels are being replaced by using microbes to generate electricity, transport fuels or chemicals.
(v) Some contact lens cleaning fluids contain enzymes to remove sticky protein deposits.

E. Environmental Biotechnology
According to the International Society for Environmental Biotechnology environmental biotechnology is
“The development, use and regulation of biological systems for remediation of contaminated environments,
and for development of environment-friendly processes”.
The microbes are isolated from the atmosphere and genetically modified to degrade the pollutants better
than other microbes of the same genus. For example, in the case of oil spills in the oceans which require
cleanup, microbes isolated from oil rich environments have shown the potential to degrade oil or use it as an
energy source. Thus, they serve as a remedy to oil spills. For example, the superbug Pseudomonas putida
developed by Ananda Chakraborty.
Bioremediation and Biodegradation
Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses living organisms or their enzymes to return the
natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
Some examples of bioremediation technologies are bioventing, landfarming, bioreactor, composting,
bioaugmentation, rhizofiltration, and biostimulation.

a. Phytoremediation is the use of natural plants or transgenic plants to bioaccumulate the toxins in their
aerial parts. The toxins or heavy metals are then extracted and removed by incineration or even recycled
for industrial use.
b. The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, the most radioactivity resistant organism, has been modified
to consume and digest toluene and ionic mercury from highly radioactive nuclear waste.
c. Mycoremediation. The term mycoremediation was coined by Paul Stamets and refers specifically to
the use of fungal mycelia in bioremediation to make the soil less contaminated.
d. Aquaculture treatment: Treatment of undesirable aquaculture byproducts by using micro-organisms
to eliminate the toxins.
e. Bioaugmentation: The addition of commercially prepared bacterial strains with specific catabolic
activities to degrade wastes.
f. Biobleaching/biopulping: Enzymes derived from micro-organisms to breakdown lignin and colourants
which are part of wood structures of various types of trees.
g. Biocatalysis: Application of enzymes as catalysts for chemical synthesis.
h. Biodetergent: Addition of biotechnology-derived microorganisms and/or their enzymes which degrade
waste and colourants, therefore acting as brightening and cleaning agents.
i. Biofiltration: Breakdown of volatile organic compounds and odour-causing chemicals in air by passing
through media containing biodegrading micro-organisms.
j. Bioleaching: Use of micro-organisms to extract metals and minerals from ores or mine wastes.
k. Biomass fuels: Technologies breakdown various plant materials (for example, cellulose, lignin and
xylan from crops) into sugars and convert them to fuel-grade ethanol and other fuel like chemicals, as
well as generate heat and/or electricity. Biomass is made by growing microorganisms on organic
materials.
l. Drain cleaning and degreasing: Use of micro-organisms to produce enzymes. such as amylase,
protease, cellulase and lipase, needed to degrade the starches. proteins. cellulose and fats common to
household and restaurant wastes.