Welcome to the World of Biotechnology

1
Welcome to the World of Biotechnology

• An introduction into the business of
  biotechnology in Georgia for high school students

2
What is Biotechnology?

• Lets break it down
• Bio - alive or living
• Technology - the application of science to
  achieve industrial or commercial objectives
• So basically, were talking about using living
  materials for a commercial or industrial purpose
• Taking living cells and putting them to work for
  us!!!

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A Definition That is a Little More Fun
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Origins of Biotechnology

• Although it seems like a new thing, biotechnology
  has actually been around a while
• Domesticated plants and animals are the result of
  selective breeding (have you ever seen a wild
  corn plant, not something youd want to eat)
• Using yeast to make bread rise
• Using bacteria or yeast to ferment grapes into
  wine

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So Why Should I Care?

• Biotechnology aspects all aspects of your
  everyday life, including agriculture and food
  safety, healthcare, law enforcement and
  environmental issues
• Although there are many great career paths
  involving biotechnology that you may consider,
  possibly even more importantly, you will soon be
  voters
• Youll make decisions on the ethics involving
  legalizing certain types of research
• You might be on a jury where biotechnology plays
  a key part in the evidence presented

6
The Biotechnology Toolbox

• Today, biotechnology is used in three main ways
• Directly using cells
• Placing yeast into a bioreactor to ferment grapes
• Using the proteins/enzymes made by cells
• Isolating antibiotics from bacteria for use in
  human medicine
• Using the genetic material inside of cell
• DNA fingerprinting

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Just Some of the Latest Advances in the World of
Biotechnology

• Cloning
• DNA fingerprinting
• Genetically modified bacteria to synthesize
  products
• Genetically modified foods

8
Cloning

• Creating a genetically identical copy of
  something (ex. a DNA strand, a cell, an organ or
  an entire organism)
• Single cells and DNA are fairly easy to clone and
  so this has been done for a comparatively long
  amount of time
• Cloning entire organisms becomes increasingly
  more difficult the more complex the organism is
  (ex. Humans are harder to clone than worms) and
  so it is very recent and for some species has not
  been perfected yet

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How Cloning Works

• DNA is extracted from an adult cell
• An egg for this same species has its DNA removed
• The empty egg is filled with the adult DNA
• The egg is implanted into a surrogate mother
• The baby born from this egg is genetically
  identical to the adult from which it was cloned
• But, it will not share any characteristics that
  arent genetic
• It will not be the same age as the animal it was
  cloned from (itll be a baby)

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Why Clone?

• To create identical cells for research purposes
• To maintain a genetically desirable species of
  plant or animal
• To create a missing organ or tissue for treatment
  of human diseases
• To save endangered or extinct species

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Some Products of Cloning
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DNA Fingerprinting

• Identifying the pattern of certain sequences in
  parts of a persons DNA to determine if two
  samples come from the same person, related
  persons or two, non-related individuals
• Only parts of the DNA sequence are used because
  the whole genome is too long to sequence
  repeatedly
• Everyone has a unique sequence of DNA (even
  identical twins, although their genomes would be
  very close to identical)
• In order to be an effective tool, we need to get
  DNA from many people to determine how often
  certain patterns show up in the population

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How DNA Fingerprinting Works

• The DNA is isolated from a cell sample and many
  copies are made with a process called PCR
• The DNA is cut into pieces using restriction
  enzymes (they cut only at specific sequences)
• The DNA is run on a gel electrophoresis to
  separate the pieces (separated based on size)
• Probes are used to find certain DNA sequences
  (usually VNTR sequences)
• Comparisons of these pieces of DNA are made to
  determine identity or relationships

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What Does a DNA Fingerprint Look Like?
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What can DNA Fingerprints be used for?

• Paternity/maternity tests
• To determine if a suspect was at a crime scene
• To identify a murder victim
• To identify a soldier killed in the line of duty
• To determine identity

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Genetically-Modified Bacteria

• Inserting new genes into a bacteria to trick it
  into making a product for us
• Although each bacteria usually doesnt make much
  product, millions of bacteria can be grown in
  bioreactors at the same time, and the product
  harvested from all of them at once

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How are Genetically-Modified Bacteria Created?

• A piece of DNA containing the gene for the
  desired product is cut with restriction enzymes
• A plasmid (circular bacterial DNA) is cut with
  the same restriction enzyme
• The piece and the plasmid are ligated (fused
  together)
• The plasmid is transformed into the bacteria
• The plasmid either stays in whole or the gene
  crosses over into the bacterias DNA

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What Does the Process of Bacterial Transformation
Look Like?
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Some Products Now Synthesized by Bacteria

• Biodiesel fuel
• Chemicals to block an HIV infection
• Photographs
• Human insulin for diabetics
• Plastics

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Genetically-Modified Foods

• Livestock or produce that has received new genes
  to make the product healthier, resistant to pest
  or more nutritious
• The process is similar to that used to create
  genetically-modified bacteria, but the genes are
  being inserted into multi-celled organism instead

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How GMO are made

• The process varies slightly between each species,
  particularly between plants and animals, however
  some aspects are the same
• Changes are made to the organisms DNA by
  inserting a useful gene into the egg cell
• This changed egg is then implanted into a mother
  and the baby born hopefully has the desired trait

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Some Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
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Why make GMOs?

• To give plants resistance to certain pests
  without the use of pesticides
• To make plants drought resistant
• To make cows that produce more milk
• To make vegetables that can undergo long
  transport without over-ripening
• To make chickens that contain extra vitamins that
  may be missing from our diets

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The Ethics of Biotechnology

• Despite all the exciting things that
  biotechnology can do or will do in the near
  future, there are things to consider
• Would it be ethical to clone a human? Why or why
  not?
• Should your insurance company be allowed to have
  access to your DNA profile if it detected some
  disease?
• How can the bacteria in bioreactors be disposed
  of once they are no longer useful?
• What happens to the natural balance when GMO are
  sent out to compete with natural plants in the
  environment?

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Conclusion

• We are at the cusp of an exciting time in the
  world of biology
• We are capable to manipulating living cells in
  ways that would have been unimaginable even 20
  years ago
• With this new technology comes many new jobs and
  benefits to mankind
• With this new technology comes the need to think
  through the ethical issues that arise and to
  wisely weigh the benefits against the drawbacks
  to make informed decisions as to what research
  should be encourage and what should not