Title: What is Biotechnology
1What is Biotechnology?
Biology 600 Biotechnology Principles and
Products Delivered Live and via
Videoconference June 1-2, 2005
Phil McClean Department of Plant Science North
Dakota State University
2The Latest Biotech News
ND GMO Planting Decisions (Winter 2005)
- New law enacted during 2005 legislative session
- Only the ND state government has the authority
to ban - plantings of GMO crops
- Response to laws passed at county level in other
states
EU Approving GMO-free Zones (May 2005)
- European Union GMO regulations permit regions
- to declare themselves GMO
- Otherwise approved GMO products can be grown
- 162 regions or provinces (US states) have asked
to be - GMO free
- 4500 total government units have made the request
3(No Transcript)
4What is Biotechnology?
How about some definitions
General Definition
The application of technology to improve a
biological organism
Detailed Definition
The application of the technology to modify
the biological function of an organism by
adding genes from another organisms
5What is the Result of Biotechnology?
- An organism showing a novel trait not normally
found in the species
Extended shelf-life tomato (FlavrSavr Tomato)
Herbicide resistant soybean (Roundup Ready
Soybean)
6Biotechnology Terms You Probably Heard
Transgene the foreign gene added to a species
Ex. modified EPSP synthase gene (encodes a
protein that functions even when plant treated
with Roundup)
Transgenic an organism containing a transgene
introduced by technological (not breeding)
methods
Ex. Roundup Ready Crops
7Biotechnology Develops
GMOs - Genetically modified organisms
- GMO - an organism that expresses traits that
result - from the introduction of foreign DNA
- Also called transgenic organism
8Important Terms
- Beneficial gene added from the same species
- Gene delivered by mating within the species
Source USDA
- Beneficial gene added from another species
- Gene delivered by plant genetic engineering
Source USDA
9Lets Be Up Front
- Breeding ? Biotechnology
- Breeding only exchanges genes found in the
species - Breeding can transfer the transgene to other
breeding materials - BUT it is not the same as biotechnology
- Biotechnology adds traits not available in the
species - Soybean does not have a gene to breakdown
Roundup - The gene comes from bacteria
10Interspecific Cross
Wheat
Rye
X
Triticale
New species, but NOT biotechnology
products
11Mutagenesis New Trait, No Foreign Gene
- Mutagenesis changes the sequence of a gene
- New, useful traits can be obtained
Mutagenesis Treatment
Susceptible Normal Gene
ATTCGA
Resistant Mutant Gene
ATTGGA
12BASF Clearfield Products
Mutagenesis Crops
- Herbicide resistance
- imidazolinones
- Mutant AHAS enzyme
- developed by mutagenesis
- Crops
- Canola, Corn, Rice, Sunflower, Wheat
- In US
- Not considered GMOs by USDA regulators
- A Major marketing advantage
- When some stacked with GMOs, the advantage lost
13The Crop Biotech Market Is Dominated By Five
Countriesa
6.7/13 ma (6.0/10 ma)
58.8/118 ma (63/106 ma)
4.6/9 ma (3/7 ma)
6.2/12 ma (3/7 ma)
20.0/40 ma (21/36 ma)
Top Five Countries 96 of market 20 increase
in biotech acreage from 2003
a2004 growing season data. http//www.isaaa.org/Pr
ess_release/Briefs30-2003/press/b30_english.htm
2003 in parentheses.
14Crop Biotechnology Grew Worldwide In 2004
- 200 million acres (20 growth)
- 8.3 million farmers (18 growth)
- 17 mega-producing countries (gt120,000 acres)
- Up from 16 countries in 2003
- US, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China, Paraguay,
India - South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Romania,
Mexico, - Spain, Philippines, Colombia, Honduras, Germany
- Germany new in 2004
Historically, biotechnology is the most
rapidly adopted new agricultural technology
15Biotechnology Crops Worldwide Acreage 2004
Soybean 120.0 million acres (17 annual
growth) Corn 30.6 million acres (25
annual growth) Canola 16.8 million acres
(12 annual growth)
16Economic Effect of Bt Cotton In China
- 200/acre increase in income
- 750 million increase nationally
17Benefits to Hungarian Farmers
From Demont et al. 2005. Potential impact of
biotechnology in eastern Europe transgenic
maize, sugar beet, and oilseed rape in Hungary.
18Transgenic Crops Increasing In the USa
a Source NASS Planting Reports, 2001,
2002. b2002 US acreage 73 million ND acreage
2.6 million c2002 US acreage 79 million ND
acreage 1.2 million d2002 US acreage 1.6
million ND acreage 1.3 million
19Impact of Transgenics on Major Crop Production
Transgenic versions of the big four crops are
grown on 30 of their acreage
20Impact of Transgenics on Worldwide Crop Production
Transgenic crops are grown on 5 of the 3.7
billion acres of cultivated land in the world
21Roundup Ready Soybean No Yield Drag or
(Advantage) North Dakota 2002 Data
aData collected by Dr. Ted Helms, NDSU b of
varieties in trial in parenthesis
22Roundup Ready Soybean Reduces Expensesa
aData provided by Dr. Duane Burgland, NDSU.
23Biotech Crops Can Be Environmentally (and Yield)
Friendly
Table 1. Cotton yield and insecticide results
from a large (157 sites) trial in India during
2001.
Means within a row are significantly different
at the 5 level From Science (2003) 299900
24Agriculture Products On the Market
Insect resistant cotton
- Bt toxin kills the cotton boll worm
- toxin gene from a bacteria
Source USDA
Insect resistant corn
- Bt toxin kills the European corn borer
- toxin gene from a bacteria
- Rootworm GM approved (2/26/03)
Normal
Transgenic
25Herbicide resistant crops
- current soybean, corn, canola
- coming sugarbeet, lettuce, strawberry,
- alfalfa, potato, wheat (on
hold) - resistance gene from bacteria
Source Monsanto
Virus resistance
- papaya, squash, potato
- resistance gene from a virus
26Bacterial and Animal Biotechnology Products
Biotech chymosin
- enzyme used to curdle milk products
- gene from yeast
- harvested from GE bacteria
- replaces the calf enzyme
Source Chr. Hansen
bST (bovine somatotropin)
- increases milk production
- gene from cow
- protein harvested from GE bacteria
- replaces cow protein originally
- harvested from pituitary glands
- of slaughtered cows
Source Rent Mother Nature
27Next Generation of Ag Biotech Products
Golden Rice
- Increased Vitamin A content
- Transgenes from bacteria and daffidol
- Controversory large amount needed to
- solve problem
Sunflower
- White mold resistance
- Resistance gene from wheat
Source Minnesota Microscopy Society
28Turfgrass
- Herbicide resistance
- Slower growing
- reduced mowing reduced pollution
Bio Steel
- Spider silk strongest known protein
- Protein expressed in goat milk
- Protein used to make soft-body,
- bullet proof vests (Nexia)
29Field Testing Permits Tell Us What is Coming
Field Trial Data Jan 2001 Today (n2540)
2001-03 data collated from Information Systems
for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
30Where Are the GM Crops Tested in the US?
ND 23 230 (3)
IA 4 1,022 (12)
CA 5 990 (12)
IL 2 1,292 (16)
PR 3 1,063 (13)
HA 1 1,437 (17)
Data 1993-present State rank, trials, total
trials Information Systems for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
31Corn is the Current Main Focus
2001-03 data collated from Information Systems
for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
32The Traditional Traits Predominant
2001-03 data collated from Information Systems
for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
33But Some Novel Traits Are Being Tested
2001-03 data collated from Information Systems
for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
34Whats Coming for Wheat??
2001-03 data collated from Information Systems
for Biotechnology
(http//www.isb.vt.edu/)
35Some Ag Biotech Products Are Discontinued
Why???
- Poor Quality
- FlavrSavr tomatoes (Calgene)
- Negative Consumer Response
- Tomato paste (Zeneca)
- Negative Corporate Response
- NewLeaf (Monsanto)
- Universal Negative Publicity
- StarLink corn (Aventis)
36Environmental Applications
Indicator bacteria
- contamination is detected in the environment
- microbes sensitive to certain pollutants
Bioremediation
- cleanup contaminated sites
- uses microbes designed to degrade
- the pollutant
37Land Mine Detection
Without this effort, that is dangerous to
our military,
children are maimed.
38Land Mine Detection
- How biotechnology helps
- Patented transgene added to plants
- When metal from mine is detected
- Plant turns from green to red
- Technology developed by Aresa Biodetection
Mine detected
39Biotechnology and Health
40What is Biopharming?
Biopharming Definition
Growing transgenic crops that express
pharmaceutical products
Examples
Drugs Antibodies Proteins
41Why use this technology?
Familiar Production Systems
- Genes introduced into field crops (mostly corn)
- New productions systems not needed
- Producer can use traditional growing strategies
Reduced End-Product Cost
- Animal system 1000 - 5000 per gram protein
- Plant System 1 - 10 per gram protein
-
-
Source The Roanoke Times, 2000
42Edible Vaccines A Biopharming Dream Biotech
Plants Serving Human Health Needs
- A pathogen protein gene is cloned
- Gene is inserted into the DNA of plant (potato,
banana, tomato) - Humans eat the plant
- The body produces antibodies against pathogen
protein - Human are immunized against the pathogen
- Examples
- Diarrhea
- Hepatitis B
- Measles
43Future Health-related Biotech Products
Vaccines
- Herpes
- hepatitis C
- AIDS
- malaria
Tooth decay
- Streptococcus mutans, the mouth bacteria
- releases lactic acid that destroys enamel
- engineered Streptococcus mutans
- does not release lactic acid
- destroys the tooth decay strain
44Nutritional Genomics (Nutrigenomics a
coming Biotechnology innovation)
- Concepts of Nutrigenomics
- Certain diets can cause severe health risks in
individuals - Refined sugars, dairy products, fatty foods
- Certain diets enhance disease susceptibility in
individuals - with a specific genetic makeup
- Diabetes, lactose intolerance, high cholesterol
- Diets based on an individuals genetic makeup are
preferred - No refined sugars, minimal dairy products
- or fatty foods
45Nutritional Genomics (Nutrigenomics)
- Goal of Nurtigenomics
- Identify specific genetic makeups
- What combination of genes places a person at
risk? - Develop dietary recommendations
- What diets are best suited for certain at-risk
individuals?
46Top Biotechnologies In The Future
- Molecular Diagnostics
- Treatments exist, but diagnositic tools are
lacking - Expensive, hard to implement
- Cost effective diagnostic procedures needed
- Recombinant Vaccines
- Vaccines have effectively eradicated small pox,
polio, etc - Other diseases need to be addressed
- More effective and low-cost vaccines are needed
- Genetic engineering can solve these problems
47Top Biotechnologies In The Future
- Vaccine and drug delivery
- Vaccine injections can cause serious infection
- New delivery forms, such as slow release drugs,
are needed - Bioremediation
- Water, air, and soil pollution is a problem
- Plants can breakdown much of these pollutants
- Plants that are safe to the environment and
reduce pollutants - are needed
48Top Biotechnologies In The Future
- Nutritionally Enriched Crops
- Malnutrition is widespread
- Malnutrition is associated with many diseases
- Modification of staple crops necessary
- to solve the problem
- Female Controlled Protection Against STDs
- Incidence of sexually-transmitted disease is
high - Women are most affected
- Vaginal microbicides needed
- Topical application best solution
49The Question for the Future Should We Live A
Biotech Free Lifestyle??
- Answers depends upon your perspective on the
value - of the technology
- What will support your opinion?
- Economics
- Safety of products
- Needs of human