Biotechnology-application
1. What are the applications of biotechnology?
Therapeutics, diagnostics, genetically modified crops foragriculture, processed food bioremediation,
energy production ,waste treatment
[Link] biotechnology is used in agriculture?
For genetically engineered crop based agriculture (other option for increased food production are agro
chemical based agriculture and organic agriculture)
3. What is GMO?-Genetically modified organism
Those organisms whose genes have been altered by manipulation .
[Link] are the uses of GMO plants?
-Crops are more tolerant to a biotic stresses like cold heat drought salinity etc.
-It reduces the dependence of crops on chemical pesticides as they are made pest resistant.
-Post harvest losses are reduced
-Plants have increased efficiency of mineral usage, so loss of soil fertility is prevented
-Food produced has enhanced nutritional value
-It helps to create tailor made plants to supply resources to industries such as starch fuel, pharmaceuticals
5. How pest resistant plants like Bt cotton are produced? ) (refer flow chart)
--The bacteria bacillus thuringiensis produces crystal proteins called cry proteins that are toxic to larvae of
insects like lepidoptererans (tobacco budworm, armyworm) coleopterans (beetles) &dipterans (flies,
mosquitoes)
--The cry genes are taken from bacterium and incorporated in crops like cotton, tomato corn,
rice ,soyabean etc through plasmid of agrobacterium [Link] gene expresses and produces toxic
crystal protein. When it enter in to the gut of insect larvae,it get solublises under alkaline PH and become
[Link] creates pores in the epithelial cells ,so water enters in to the cell and makes the cell to swell
and causes lysis. The insect [Link] plants are called BT plants.
cry 1AC &cry 2Ab control cotton bollworms. cry 1Ab controls corn borer.
cry 3Ab controls potato beetle.
6. Why does one toxin not kill the bacillus?
Bt toxin protein exsit as inactive protoxinconverted into an active form due to the alkaline pH of the gut of
insect which solubilize the crystals.
[Link] plants are protected against nematodes? (refer flow chart)
A nematode meloidegyneincognitia infects tobacco plants and reduces their yield.
It is prevented by using a method called RNA interference,it is the process of cellular defense in
all eukaryotes
The specific genes (in the form of C-DNA) from the parasite are introduced into the plant using
Agrobacterium as the vector.
The genes are introduced in such a way that it produces both sense (coding RNA) and antisense
RNA(non coding) are produced.
The two RNA are complementary to each other so they form double standard RNA (ds RNA)
This silence the specific RNA of the nematode by a process called RNA _interference it prevents the
translation of a specific mRNA (silencing)
As a result the parasite cannot live in the transgenic plant & its protected from the pest
7. How biotechnology is useful in medicine/ explain how functional human insulin is produced by
r-DNA technology (therapeutic drug) (refer flow chart)
Human insulin has 2 short polypeptide chain A&B linked by disulphidebridges.
It is secreted as prohormone which has c-peptide.(inactive)
It has to be removed during maturation to become functional hormone.
In the 1983 Elililly –an American company prepared 2 DNA sequences
coding for chain A&B of human insulin & introduced into plasmid of
E-coli to produce polypeptide chain A, & B separately.
The 2 chains produced were extracted and combined by creating disulphide
bridges
In earlier days Insulin taken from pancreas of slaughtered animals like pig,cattles are used by diabetic
patients,but caused many allergic reactions & negative immunological responses.
8. What are the advantages of recombinant therapeutics like humulin
It does not induce any unwanted immunological responses but common products isolated from non-
human sources causes unwanted immunological responses.
30 recombinant therapeutics have been approved for human use 12 are marketed in india insulin
extracted from pancreas of slaughtered cattle & pigs develops allergy & other types of reactions to the
foreign protein
9.. How biotech useful in gene therapy
It is a method that allows correction of a defective gene. Genes are inserted into
the cells and tissues of an individual to correct defective.
10. Gene. Therapy
Introducing normal gene in the place defective mutant/gene.
Using, retrovirus the normal gene is introduced in to the host cell.
st
1 clinical gene therapy is carried out in the year 1990 to a girl with ADA deficiency(Adenosine
deaminase - enzyme needed for making the immune system strong, if it is absent it causes SCID-. It is
corrected by many diseases
the following methods
Injection the enzyme ADA in to the body directly.
Bone marrow transplantation.
These 2 methods are temporary method because enzymes, have to be injected frequently, &
transplantation is to be carried out frequently.
In Gene therapy –the lymphocyte are taken out & cultured. Functional ADA as C-DNA is
introduced into the lymphocyte using disarmed retrovirus. It is also temporary because
lymphocytes have short life span.(not immortal) So frequently it has to be carried out
But if this functional gene is introduced in to the bone marrow at early embryonic
stage it will be permanent cure.
11. Why Molecular diagnosis is used instead of conventional method?
* It helps in early diagnosis of diseases. Method used is PCR, ELISA, r-DNA technology.
*PCR is used to amplify the nucleic acid of the pathogen when their no is small.(to detect HIV and to
detect mutation in genes of suspected cancer patients.)
*ELISA is based on antigen antibody specificity
*The cloned genes are used as probes to detect complementary DNA strand. A probe is a piece of ss DNA
that is tagged with a radioactive molecule and is used to find its complementary DNA by hybridization
followed by detection of radioactivity by autoradiography.
12. What are the uses of TRANSGENIC ANIMALS?
* Helps to study how genes are regulated & how they affect the normal functions of the body and
development .eg: role of insulin-like growth factor
*helps to understand how genes contribute to development of diseases
*Transgenic animals are used to produce biologically useful products.
---Eg:alpha 1-anitrypsin a human protein used to treat emphysema.
---- The transgenic animal Rosie produced the human alpha lactalbumin.a more nutrionally balanced
product for human babies, it is rich in protein (2.4g/lit)
*transgenic animals help to test safety of vaccines (polio)
* Animals are developed to test toxicity of drugs.
14. WHAT IS BIOPATENT? /ethical issues
Permission granted for doing GMO research or introducing GMO for public usage.
GEAC: Genetic engineering approval committee, it is set up by Indian Govt to make decision regarding the
validity of GMO research or introducing GMO for public usage
Disadvantage-- GMO may produce undesirable effects in the ecosystem, it may effect the local varieties
[Link] is biopiracy?
It is the use of bio resources by multinational company & other organization without proper authorization
from the country [Link]: Basmati rice is got patent right by an American company through US
patent & trademark office .the new variety has been developed by this company by crossing an Indian
variety with semi dwarf varieties. (Neem and turmeric re the other examples)
