Biotechnology

1
Biotechnology
2
Introduction

• Biotechnology is a tool of agriscience
• Promises unprecedented advancements
• Has real dangers
• Definition of Biotechnology

3
Historic Applications

• Living organisms have been used for centuries to
  alter and improve the quality and types of food
  for humans and animals
• Yeast to make bread rise
• Bacteria to ferment sauerkraut
• Bacteria to produce cheese and other dairy
  products
• Microorganisms to make alcoholic beverages
• Bacteria in silage production

4
Improving Plant and Animal Performance

• Improvement by Selection
• Improvement by Genetics
• Improvement by Biotechnology

5
Improvement by Selection

• Soon followed domestication of the dog, horse,
  sheep, goat, ox and other animals thousands of
  years ago
• Purchasing, selling, bartering and trading got
  people animals with desirable traits
• Mating plants and animals with desirable traits
  resulted in selective breeding
• Historical evidence in the development of the
  horse

6
Improvement by Genetics

• Gregor Johann Mendel
• Austrian Monk who is credited with discovering
  the affect of genetics on plant characteristics
• Experimented with garden peas
• Published findings in 1866
• People didnt pay much attention

7
Improvement by Genetics

• Mendels work would have been lost if not
  recorded
• 1900 other scientist reviewed, built upon his
  observations, and conclusions
• Today Gregor Johann Mendel is credited for
  discovering the principles of heredity

8
Improvement by Biotechnology

• Improvement by manipulating the genetic content
  of cells
• Permits more choices for the researcher, more
  rapid observation of results
• New capability with amazing implications

9
DNA - Genetic Code of Life

• Over 300,000 kinds of plants
• Over 1 million kinds of animals
• All are different in some ways
• All plants and animals are alike in some ways
• All contain DNA

10
DNA - Genetic Code of Life

• Cloning is common scientific knowledge
• Early 1980s Genetic Engineering developed
• Discovery credited to James Watson and Francis
  Crick.
• Rosalind Franklin actually deserves most of the
  credit.
• function
• composition
• transmitter of hereditary information

11
DNA - Genetic Code of Life

• DNA occurs in pairs of strands intertwined
• Connected by chemicals called bases
• Likened to the two sides of a wire ladder
• Bases likened to the rungs and include
• Adenine (A)
• Guanine (G)
• Cytosine (C)
• Thymine (T)

12
DNA - Genetic Code of Life

• Examples of traits
• hair color
• tendency for baldness
• height of plants at maturity
• tendency of females to have twins
• Gene Splicing
• Gene Mapping

13
Solving Problems with Microbes

• Microscopic plants and animals lend themselves to
  genetic engineering
• Produce quickly and can be genetically engineered
  to produce products needed by other plants,
  animals, and humans
• One of first commercial products was insulin
• Used by people with diabetes to control their
  blood sugar levels

14
Improving Plants and Animals

• 1988- first use of ice-minus
• 1988 use of genetically altered bacteria for
  Dutch Elm Disease
• BST and PST
• Roundup and Liberty Ready corn and soybeans
• BT Corn

15
Improving Plants and Animals

• Genetic engineering and other forms of
  biotechnology hold great promise in controlling
• Diseases
• Insects
• Weeds
• Other pests
• Environment will be enhanced

16
Waste Management

• Environmental Pollution is a major problem
• Landfills are becoming full
• Old dump sites are creating problems
• Waste is piling up
• Sewage and chemical disposal is a constant problem

17
Waste Management

• Genetically altered bacteria are used to feed on
  oil slicks and spills
• Bacteria are being developed to decompose or
  deactivate dioxin, PCBs, insecticides,
  herbicides, and other chemicals
• Bacteria are under development to convert solid
  wastes into sugars and fuel

18
Safety in Biotechnology

• Federal and state governments monitor
  biotechnology closely
• Fear of genetically modified organisms
• Policies, procedures and laws have been developed
• Gaining in public confidence