BREEDING

AND
BIOTECHNOLOGY

Done by tds
Learning Objectives
 At the end of this lesson the students will be able to :
 Define and discuss the steps and methods involved in plant
breeding.
 Know the crop varieties produced by crop improvement.
 Understand animal breeding and its implications.
 Point out the differences between inbreeding and outbreeding.
 Know what is hybrid vigour and its importance.
 Identify the steps involved in genetic engineering.
 Understand the practical applications of DNA fingerprinting.
 Gain knowledge on gene therapy.
 Know the importance of stem cell technology
 Introduction

India’s population is likely to reach 1.7 billion by 2050. Current

rate of India’s food production will be able to meet only 59% of
the country’s food demand at that time. How can India feed 1.7
billion people by 2050? This can be made possible by ‘Plant
breeding’ and ‘Animal husbandry’.

Plant breeding is the art of developing economically important

plants with superior quality.

Animal husbandry involves the breeding of animals. It aims at

improving the genotypes of animals to make them more useful
to the welfare of mankind.
 Modern Agricultural Practices and Crop Improvement
Modern agricultural practices are activities carried out to improve cultivation
of plants. It includes preparation of soil, sowing, application of manures and
fertilizers, proper irrigation, protection from weeds and pests harvesting,
threshing and storage.

The aim of crop improvement is to develop improved crop varieties possesing

higher yield, better quality, resistance to diseases and shorter duration.

Green Revolution
Green Revolution is the process of increasing food production through
high yielding crop varieties and modern agricultural techniques in
underdeveloped and developing nations. Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, an
American agronomist the “Father of the Green Revolution”, received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

In India Dr. M. S. Swaminathan joined with Dr.Borlaug in bringing Green

Revolution by introducing Mexican wheat varieties. This eventually
increased wheat and rice production between 1960 and 2000.
 Breeding for high yield and better quality

Semi-Dwarf varieties in Wheat and Rice

Sonalika, Kalyan Sona are semi-dwarf varieties of wheat developed from high-
yielding, semi-dwarf, fertilizer responsive wheat varieties from Mexico. IR-8
(Miracle rice) is a high-yielding semi-dwarf rice variety developed by
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),Philippines. In 1966, this was first
introduced in Philippines and India. It was a hybrid of a high yielding rice variety
Peta from Indonesia, and Dee-geo-woo-gen
(DGWG) a dwarf variety from China.
 More to Know
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
Dr. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan is an Indian
scientist known for his leading role in India’s Green
Revolution. His research on potato, wheat, rice and
jute are well known plant breeding experiments. Due
to his efforts the wheat production increased from
twelve million tonnes in 1960's to seventy million
tonnes now. He is aptly called as the “Father of Indian
Green Revolution

More to Know
Dr. G. Nammalvar
Dr. G. Nammalvar (1938-2013) was a Tamil agricultural
scientist, environmental activist and organic farming
expert. He founded Nammalvar Ecological Foundation
for Farm Research and Global Food Security Trust
(NEFFFRGFST-Vanagam) to create public awareness
about the benefits of organic farming
 Plant Breeding for Disease Resistance
Plant diseases are caused by pathogens
like viruses, bacteria and fungi. This
affects crop yield. Hence, it is important to
develop disease resistant varieties of
crops, that would increase the yield and
reduce the use of fungicides and
bactericides. Some disease resistant
varieties developed by plant breeding are
given below:

Plant Breeding for Insects/Pests Resistance

In addition to microorganisms, a large

number of insects and pests also cause
damage to the crops. Hence, insect and
pest resistant crop varieties were
developed. Some of them are given
below:
Plant Breeding for Improved Nutritional Quality

Undernutrition and protein malnutrition among human population is a major

health problem which has been receiving much focus throughout the world.
Apart, from humans it also affects the health of farm animals. To combat these
conditions, human and animal health are to be determined by the nutritional
quality of the feed crops. The nutritional quality of crops depends on quality and
quantity of nutrients.The nutritional quality may be improved with respect to its

 Protein content and quality of protein

 Oil content
 Mineral content

Biofortification
Biofortification is the scientific process of developing crop plants enriched with
high levels of desirable nutrients like vitamins, proteins and minerals. Some
examples of crop varieties developed as a result of biofortification are given
below:
Protina, Shakti and Rathna are lysine rich maize hybrids (developed in India).

Atlas 66, a protein rich wheat variety.

Iron rich fortified rice variety.

Vitamin A enriched carrots, pumpkin and spinach.

Methods of Plant Breeding for Crop Improvement

Methods of plant breeding to develop high yielding varieties are given below:

 Introduction of new varieties of plants

 Selection
 Polyploidy breeding
 Mutation breeding
 Hybridization

Introduction of New Varieties of Plants

It is a process of introducing high yielding varieties of plants from one place
to another. Such plants are called as exotic species. These imported plant
materials may carry pathogens and pests, hence they are thoroughly tested
in a plant quarantine before being introduced to the fields. e.g Phaseolus
mungo was introduced from China.
 Selection
Selection is one of the oldest methods of plant breeding in which individual plants or
groups of plants are sorted out from a mixed population based on the morphological
characters.

Methods of selection

 There are three methods of selection. They are

 Mass selection
 Pureline selection
 Clonal selection

Mass selection

Seeds of best plants showing desired characters are collected from a mixed
population. The collected seeds are allowed to raise the second generation.
Some common examples for mass selection are groundnut varieties like TMV–2 and AK–
10. Its schematic representation is given below.

Mass Selection
 Pureline selection

Pureline is “the progeny of a single individual obtained by self breeding”. This

is also called as individual plant selection. In pureline selection large
numbers of plants are selected from a self-pollinated crop and harvested
individually.

Individual plant progenies from them are evaluated separately. The best one
is released as a pureline variety. Progeny is similar both genotypically and
phenotypically.

Clonal selection
A group of plants produced from a single plant through vegetative or
asexual reproduction are called clones.

All the plants of a clone are similar both in genotype and phenotype.
Selection of desirable clones from the mixed population of vegetatively
propagated crop is called clonal selection.
Polyploidy Breeding

Sexually reproducing organisms have two complete set of chromosomes in their

somatic cells. This is called diploid (2n). The gametic cells have only one set of
chromosome. This is called haploid (n). An organism having more than two sets of
chromosomes is called polyploid (Greek : Polys = many + aploos = one fold + eidos =
form). Such condition is called Polyploidy. It can be induced by physical agents such
as heat or cold treatment, X-rays and chemical agents like colchicine.

Achievements of polyploidy breeding

Some achievements of polyploidy breeding are

 Seedless watermelons (3n) and bananas (3n).

 TV-29 (triploid variety of tea) with larger shoots and drought tolerance.

 Triticale (6n) is a hybrid of wheat and rye. To make this plant fertile polyploidy is
induced. It has higher dietary fibre and protein.

 Raphano brassica is an allotetraploid by colchicine treatment.

Mutation Breeding

Mutation is defined as the sudden heritable change in the nucleotide sequence of

DNA in an organism. It is a process by which genetic variations are created which
in turn brings about changes in the organism. The organism which undergoes
mutation is called a mutant.

The factors which induce mutations are known as mutagens or mutagenic agents.
Mutagens are of two types namely physical mutagens and chemical mutagens

Gamma Garden (do u know)

Gamma garden or Atomic garden is a concept

popularised after World War II for the peaceful use
of atomic energy for crop improvement. This is a
type of induced mutation breeding where
radioactive sources particularly gamma rays from
Cobalt-60 or Caesium-137 are used to induce
desirable mutations in crop plants.
 Physical mutagens

Radiations like X-rays, α, β and γ-rays, UV rays, temperature etc. which induce
mutations are called physical mutagens

ii Chemical mutagens
Chemical substances that induce mutations are called chemical mutagens. e.g.
Mustard gas and nitrous acid. The utilisation of induced mutation in crop
improvement is called mutation breeding.

Achievements of mutation breeding

a. Sharbati Sonora wheat produced from Sonora-64 by using gamma rays.

b. Atomita 2 rice with saline tolerance and pest resistance

c. Groundnuts with thick shells

 Hybridization

Hybridization may be defined as the process of crossing two or more types of

plants for bringing their desired characters together into one progeny called
hybrid. Hybrid is superior in one or more characters to both parents.
Hybridization is the common method of creating genetic variation to get
improved varieties.

Hybridization Experiment: Triticale (The first man – made cereal)

Triticale is the first man- made cereal hybrid. It is obtained by crossing

wheat (Triticum durum, 2n = 28) and rye (Secale cereal, 2n = 14). The F1
hybrid is sterile (2n = 21). Then the chromosome number is doubled using
colchicine and it becomes a hexaploid Triticale (2n = 42).

The cycle of crop raising and selection continues till the plants with the
desired characters are finally obtained. The development of new varieties
is a long-drawn process. Two main aspects of hybridization are to
combine the characters of two plants in one plant and to utilize hybrid
vigour.
 Animal Breeding
A breed is a group of animals of common origin within a species that has certain
distinguishing characters that are not found in other members of the same
species like general appearance and others striking features.

Objectives of Animal Breeding

Animal breeding aims at improving the genotypes of domesticated
animals to increase their yield and improve the desirable qualities to
produce milk, egg and meat.
When breeding takes place between animals of the same breed, it is
called inbreeding. The cross between different breeds is called
outbreeding.

Inbreeding
Inbreeding refers to the mating of closely related animals within the same breed
for about 4-6 generations. Superior males and superior females of the same
breed are identified and mated in pairs. Hissardale is a new breed of sheep
developed in Punjab by crossing Bikaneri(Magra) ewes and Australian Marino
rams.
 Inbreeding depression:
Continued inbreeding reduces fertility and productivity. Inbreeding
exposes harmful recessive genes that are eliminated by selection.

Outbreeding
It is the breeding of unrelated animals. The offsprings formed are called
hybrids. The hybrids are stronger and vigorous than their parents.
 Heterosis
The superiority of the hybrid obtained by
cross breeding is called as heterosis or hybrid
vigour.
Effects of hybrid vigour in animal breeding
 Increased production of milk by cattle
 Increased production of egg by poultry
 High quality of meat is produced
 Increased growth rate in domesticated
animals

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is the manipulation and transfer of genes from one organism to
another organisms to create a new DNA called as recombinant DNA(rDNA). The term
recombinant is used because DNA from two different sources can be joined together.
Hence, genetic engineering is also called as recombinant DNA technology.
U know
Plasmid is the small circular double stranded DNA
molecule found in the cytoplasm of bacterial cell
and separated from chromosomal DNA. It can
replicate independently.
 More to Know

Restriction enzymes recognises a specific base

pair sequence (palindromic sequence) in DNA
called as restriction site and cleaves the
phosphodiester bond within DNA.

Techniques of Genetic Engineering – Basic Requirements

Important discoveries that led to the stepping stone of rDNA technology were

 Presence of plasmid in bacteria that can undergo replication independently

along with chromosomal DNA.

 Restriction enzymes cuts or break DNA at specific sites and are also called as
molecular scissors.

 DNA ligases are the enzymes which help in ligating (joining) the broken DNA
fragments.
 Gene Cloning

What reminds to your mind when you hear the word clone? Of course, ‘DOLLY’ the
cloned sheep. The carbon copy of an individual is often called a clone. However, more
appropriately, a clone means to make a genetically exact copy of an organism.

In gene cloning, a gene or a piece of DNA fragment is inserted into a bacterial cell
where DNA will be multiplied (copied) as the cell divides. A brief outline of the basic
steps involved in gene cloning are:

 Isolation of desired DNA fragment by using restriction enzymes

 Insertion of the DNA fragment into a suitable vector (Plasmid) to make rDNA

 Transfer of rDNA into bacterial host cell (Transformation)

 Selection and multiplication of recombinant host cell to get a clone

 Expression of cloned gene in host cell.

Using this strategy several enzymes, hormones and vaccines can be produced
 Development of Dolly
Dolly was the first cloned female sheep,
developed by Dr. Ian Wilmut and his
colleagues at the Roslin Institute, Scotland in
July 1996. She was created by somatic cell
nuclear transfer technique. She lived for 6.5
years and died in 2003 because of lung
disease.

Biotechnology in Medicine

Using genetic engineering techniques

medicinally important valuable proteins or
polypeptides that form the potential
pharmaceutical products for treatment of
various diseases have been developed on a
commercial scale.
 Pharmaceutical products developed by rDNA technique

 Insulin used in the treatment of diabetes.

 Human growth hormone used for treating children with growth deficiencies.

 Blood clotting factors are developed to treat haemophilia.

 Tissue plasminogen activator is used to dissolve blood clots and prevent heart
attack.

 Development of vaccines against various diseases like Hepatitis B and rabies

U know
Eli Lilly and Company, United States, in 1979 first started commercial production of
human insulin by using rDNA technolog

Gene Therapy
Gene therapy refers to the replacement of defective gene by the direct transfer of
functional genes into humans to treat genetic disease or disorder. The genetic
makeup of the ‘patient’ cell is altered using recombinant DNA technology. It was first
successfully implemented in 1990.
Somatic gene therapy is the replacement of defective gene in somatic cells.

Germ line gene therapy replacement of defective gene in germ cell (egg and sperm).

Gene therapy conducted till date has targeted only somatic (non-reproductive) cells.
Correction of genetic defects in somatic cells may be beneficial to the patient but the
corrected gene may not be carried to the next generation.

Stem Cells
Our body is composed of over 200 specialised cell types, that can carry out specific
functions. e.g. neurons or nerve cell that can transmit signals, or heart cells which
contract to pump blood or pancreatic cells to secrete insulin. These specialised cells
are called as differentiated cells.
In contrast to differentiated cells, stem cells are undifferentiated or unspecialised
mass of cells. The stem cells are the cells of variable potency. Potency refers to the
number of possible fates that a cell can acquire. The two important properties of
stem cells that differentiate them from other cells are:

 its ability to divide and give rise to more stem cells by self-renewal
 its ability to give rise to specialised cells with specific functions by the process of
differentiation.
 Types of stem cells
Embryonic stem cells can be extracted and cultured from the early embryos. These
cells are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst. These cells can be developed
into any cell in the body.
Adult stem cell or somatic stem cell are found in the neonatal (new born) and adults.
They have the ability to divide and give rise to specific cell types. Sources of adult
stem cells are amniotic fluid, umbilical cord and bone marrow.

Stem-cell therapy

Sometimes cells, tissues and organs in the

body may be permanently damaged or lost
due to genetic condition or disease or injury. In
such situations stem cells are used for the
treatment of diseases which is called stem-cell
therapy. In treating neurodegenerative
disorders like Parkinson’s disease and
Alzheimer’s disease
neuronal stem cells can be used to replace the
damaged or lost neurons.
 DNA Fingerprinting Technology
The human genome has 3 billion base pairs. Did you know that the DNA pattern of two
individuals cannot be same except for identical twins. Each person’s DNA sequence is
unique due to the small difference in the base pairs. Therefore, if we want to compare
the genetic difference among the two individuals, DNA fingerprinting is the easier and
quicker method. This technique was developed by Alec Jeffrey.
The technique analyses each individual’s unique DNA sequences and provides distinctive
characteristics of individual which helps in identification. Variable number of tandem
repeat sequences (VNTRs) serve as molecular markers for identification.
In human beings, 99 % of the DNA base sequences are the same and this is called as bulk
genomic DNA. The remaining 1 % DNA sequence differs from one individual to another.
This 1 % DNA sequence is present as small stretch of repeated sequences which is known
as satellite DNA. The number of copies of the repeat sequence also called as VNTRs
differs from one individual to another, and results in variation in the size of the DNA
segment.
As shown in the illustration, the sequence AGCT is
repeated six times in first person, fivetimes in second
person and seven times in thirdperson. Because of this,
DNA segment of third person will be larger in size
followed by DNA segment of first person and then the
second person. Thus, it is clear that satellite DNA bring
about variation within the population.Variation in DNA
banding pattern reveals differences among the
individuals.
 VNTRs illustration of three persons
As shown in the illustration, the sequence AGCT is repeated six times in first person, five
times in second person and seven times in third person. Because of this, DNA segment of
third person will be larger in size followed by DNAs egment of first person and then the
second person. Thus, it is clear that satellite DNA bring about variation within the
population.Variation in DNA banding pattern revealsdifferences among the individuals.
Applications of DNA Fingerprinting
 DNA fingerprinting technique is widely used in forensic applications like crime
investigation such as identifying the culprit. It is also used for paternity testing in case
of disputes.
 It also helps in the study of genetic diversity of population, evolution and speciation.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

One of the most tremendous development of genetic engineering is the production of
enetically modified (GM) plants and animals.Genetic modification refers to the
alteration or manipulation of genes in the organisms using rDNA techniques in order to
produce the desired characteristics. The DNA fragment inserted is called transgene.
Plants or animals expressing a modified endogenous gene or a foregin gene are also
known as transgenic organisms.
The transgenic plants are much stable, with improved nutritional quality, resistant to
diseases and tolerant to various environment conditions. Similarly transgenic animals
are used to produce proteins of medicinal importance at low cost and improve livestock
quality. Some examples of genetically modified plants and animals are given
Thank u by subbiah palaniyandi