Biotechnological Applications

BIOTECHNOLOGY:-

- It is essentially deals with industrial scale production of biopharmaceuticals and biologicals. The applications of biotechnology include therapeutics, diagnostics, genetically modified crops for agriculture, processed food,

Bioremediation, waste treatment and energy production, etc. 

Biotechnology have the following three critical research areas

(1) To provide the best catalyst in the form of improved organism, usually a microbe or pure enzyme. 

(2) To create optimal Conditions through engeneering for a catalyst to act. 

(3) Downstream processing technologies to purify protein/organic compounds.

Biotechnology 

BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN AGRICULTURE :-

- Role of biotechnology in agriculture can be understood under various categories discussed below

FOOD PRODUCTION 

- Biotechnology has certain applications in agriculture which may be used for increasing food production. Regarding this, it may involve following three aspects

(1) Agrochemical based agriculture. 

(2) Organic agriculture. 

(3) Genetically engineered crop-based agriculture. 

GREEN REVOLUTION :-

- It has increased the food production due to the use of 

(1) Improved crop varieties. 

(2) Agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides). 

(3) Better management practices. 

Excessive use of agrochemicals such as fertilisers, insecticides or pesticides leads to pollution and degradation of environment. These are expensive also. Thus, to assure their minimum use, genetically improved crops were developed. 

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMOs) 

- These are plants, animals, bacteria and fungi, whose genes have been altered by genetic manipulation. 

Genetic modifications in plants have lead to following 

(1) crops became more tolerant to abiotic stresses, such as cold, drought, salt, heat, etc. 

(2) Reduced dependency on chemical pesticides with the development of pest resistant crops. 

(3) post-harvest losses were greatly reduced. 

(4) Increased efficiency of mineral usage in plants, that helps to prevent early exhaustion of fertility of soil. 

(5) Enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g. Vitamin - A enriched rice (golden rice). 

(6) Tailor made plants are created by using (Genetic Modification or GM) to supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals. 

INSECT RESISTANT PLANTS:-

Transgenic tomato

- These can be developed by genetic modifications. These plants decrease the amount odf pesticide used. 

Some of the examples of insects resistant plants are Bt cotton, Bt corn, Bt brinjal, etc. 

(1) In these plants,Bt gene is expressed that has been cloned from the strains of a bacterium, bacillus thuringenesis (Bt is short form). In plants, Bt gene provides resistance to insects and acts as a biopesticide. 

(2) This bacterium produces an insecticidal protein that have ability to kill certain insects and acts as a biopesticide. 

(3) These protein crystals are formed during a particular phase of growth of bacterium. The protein is known as Cry protein. 

(4) Bt toxin protein exists as inactive protoxins in bacteria, but once an insect ingests the inactive toxin, it is converted into the active form due to the alkaline pH of the gut leading to the solubilisation of crystals. 

(5) The activated toxin binds to the surface of midgut epithelial cells and creates pores that causes cell swelling and lysis, leading to the death of the insect. 

(6) Most Bt toxins are insect - group specific. The toxin is coded by a gene named cry, e.g.the proteins encoded by the genes cry  IAc and cry llAb control the cotton bollworms and that of cry IAb controls corn borer. 

Pest Resistant in plants 

These can be also be developed by using biotechnology. 

(1) A nematode Meloidogyne incognita infects the roots of tobacco plants which reduces the production of tobacco. 

(2) RNA interference (RNAi) process is used for cellular defence in eukaryotes. It involves silencing of a specific target mRNA due to a complimentary dsRNA 

(a) dsRNA to and prevents translation of the specific mRNA(Silencing). 

(b) The source of this complementary RNA could be from an infection by viruses having RNA genomes or mobile genetic elements (transposons) that replicate via and RNA tintermediate. 

(3) Agrobacterium vectors are used to introduce nematode specific genes  into the host plants. 
It produces the both sense and antisense. RNA  in the host cells. 

(a) These two RNAs are complimentary to each each other and form a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) that initiates RNAi and hence, silence the specific mRNA of the nematode. 

(b) The parasite cannot survive in transgenic host, expressing specific interfering RNA. The transgenic plant thus, gets itself protected from the parasite. 

These are the important topics of biotechnology.