MAHARANA PARTAP SR.
SEC. SCHOOL
GHARAUNDA (KARNAL)
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2024-25
PROJECT REPORT ON
BIOTECHONOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS
NAME: KHUSHI
CLASS: 12th
ROLL NO:
SUBJECT: BIOLOGY
SUB CODE:
TEACHER IN CHARGE: Mrs. Reeta
CERTIFICATE
This is certify that khushi,a student of class XII has
successfully completed the search on the project
“BioTechnology And Its Applications” under the guidance o
Mrs. Reeta subject teacher during the year 2024-25 as per
guidelines issues by Central Board of Secondary examination
(CBSE).
EXAMINER SIGNATURE
BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN AGRICULTURE
Let us take a look at the three options that can be thought for increasing food
production
(i) agro-chemical based agriculture;
(ii) organic agriculture; and
(iii) genetically engineered crop-based agriculture. The Green
Revolution succeeded in tripling the food supply but yet it was not
enough to feed the growing human population. Increased yields
have partly been due to the use of improved crop varieties, but
mainly due to the use of better management practices and use of
agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides). However, for farmers in
the developing world, agrochemicals are often too expensive, and
further increases in yield with existing varieties are not possible
using conventional breeding. Is there any alternative path that our
understanding of genetics can show so that farmers may obtain
maximum yield from their fields? Is there a way to minimise the
use of fertilisers and chemicals so that their harmful effects on the
environment are reduced? Use of genetically modified crops is a
possible solution.
Plants, bacteria, fungi and animals whose genes have been
altered by manipulation are called Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMO). GM plants have been useful in many ways.
Genetic modification has:
(i) made crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses (cold, drought,
salt, heat).
(ii) reduced reliance on chemical pesticides (pest-resistant
crops).
(iii) helped to reduce post harvest losses.
(iv) increased efficiency of mineral usage by plants (this
prevents early exhaustion of fertility of soil).
(v) enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g., Vitamin ‘A’
enriched rice. In addition to these uses, GM has been used
to create tailor-made plants to supply alternative resources
to industries, in the form of starches, fuels and
pharmaceuticals.
Some of the applications of biotechnology in agriculture
that you will study in detail are the production of pest resistant
plants, which could decrease the amount of pesticide used. Bt
toxin is produced by a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt
for short). Bt toxin gene has been cloned from the bacteria and
been expressed in plants to provide resistance to insects without
the need for insecticides; in effect created a bio-pesticide.
Examples are Bt cotton, Bt corn, rice, tomato, potato and
soyabean etc.
Bt Cotton: Some strains of Bacillus thuringiensis produce proteins
that kill certain insects such as lepidopterans (tobacco budworm,
armyworm), coleopterans (beetles) and dipterans (flies,
mosquitoes). B. thuringiensis forms protein crystals during a
particular phase of their growth. These crystals contain a toxic
insecticidal protein. Why does this toxin not kill the Bacillus?
Actually, the Bt toxin protein exist as inactive protoxins but once
an insect ingest the inactive toxin, it is converted into an active
form of toxin due to the alkaline pH of the gut which solubilise the
crystals. The activated toxin binds to the surface of midgut
epithelial cells andcreate pores that cause cell swelling and lysis
and eventually cause death of the insect.
Specific Bt toxin genes were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis
and incorporated into the several crop plants such as cotton
(Figure 12.1). The choice of genes depends upon the crop and the
targeted pest, as most Bt toxins are insect-group specific. The
toxin is coded by a gene named cry. There are a number of them,
for example, the proteins encoded by the genes cryIAc and cryIIAb
control the cotton bollworms, that of cryIAb controls orn borer
Figure 12.1 Cotton boll: (a) destroyed by bollworms; (b) a fully mature
cotton boll
Pest Resistant Plants: Several nematodes parasitise a wide variety
of plants and animals including human beings. A nematode
Meloidegyneincognitia infects the roots of tobacco plants and
causes a great reduction in yield. A novel strategy was adopted to
prevent this infestation which was based on the process of RNA
interference (RNAi). RNAi takes place in all eukaryotic organisms
as a method of cellular defense. This method involves silencing of
a specific mRNA due to a complementary dsRNA molecule that
binds to and prevents translation of the mRNA (silencing). The
source of this complementary RNA could be from an infection by
viruses having RNA genomes or mobile genetic elements
(transposons) that replicate via an RNA intermediate.
Using Agrobacterium vectors, nematode-specific genes were
introduced into the host plant (Figure 12.2). The introduction of
DNA was such that it produced both sense and anti-sense RNA in
the host cells. These two RNA’s being complementary to each
other formed a double stranded (dsRNA) that initiated RNAi and
thus, silenced the specific mRNAof the nematode. The
consequence was that the parasite could not survive in a
transgenic host expressing specific interfering RNA. The transgenic
plant therefore got itself protected from the parasite (Figure
12.2).
Figure 12.2 Host plant-generated dsRNA triggers protection against nematode infestation:
(a) Roots of a typical control plants; (b) transgenic plant roots 5 days after deliberate
infection of nematode but protected through novel mechanism.
12.2 BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN
MEDICINE
The recombinant DNA technological processes have made
immense impact in the area of healthcare by enabling mass
production of safe and more effective therapeutic drugs. Further,
the recombinant therapeutics do not induce unwanted
immunological responses as is common in case of similar products
isolated from non-human sources. At present, about 30
recombinant therapeutics have been approved for human-use the
world over. In India, 12 of these are presently being marketed.
12.2.1 Genetically Engineered Insulin
Management of adult-onset diabetes is possible by taking insulin
at regular time intervals. What would a diabetic patient do if
enough human-insulin was not available? If you discuss this, you
would soon realise that one would have to isolate and use insulin
from other animals. Would the insulin isolated from other animals
be just as effective as that secreted by the human body itself and
would it not elicit an immune response in the human body? Now,
imagine if bacterium were available that could make human
insulin. Suddenly the whole process becomes so simple. You can
easily grow a large quantity of the bacteria and make as much
insulin as you need.
Think about whether insulin can be orally administered to
diabetic people or not. Why?
Insulin used for diabetes was earlier
extracted from pancreas of slaughtered
cattle and pigs. Insulin from an animal
source, though caused some patients to
develop allergy or other types of
reactions to the foreign protein. Insulin
consists of two short polypeptide
chains: chain A and chain B, that are
linked together by disulphide bridges
(Figure 12.3). In mammals, including
humans, insulin is synthesised as a pro-
hormone (like a pro-enzyme, the pro-hormone also needs to be
processed before it becomes a fully mature and functional
hormone) which contains an extra stretch called the C peptide.
This peptide is not present in the mature insulin and is removed
during maturation into [Link] main challenge for production
of insulin using rDNA techniques was getting insulin assembled
into a mature form. In 1983, Eli Lilly an American company
prepared two DNA sequences corresponding to A and B, chains of
human insulin and introduced them in plasmids of E. coli to
produce insulin chains. Chains A and B were produced separately,
extracted and combined by creating disulfide bonds to form
human insulin.
12.2.2 Gene Therapy
If a person is born with a hereditary disease, can a corrective
therapy be taken for such a disease? Gene therapy is an attempt
to do this. Gene therapy is a collection of methods that allows
correction of a gene defect that has been diagnosed in a
child/embryo. Here genes are inserted into a person’s cells and
tissues to treat a disease. Correction of a genetic defect involves
delivery of a normal gene into the individual or embryo to take
over the function of and compensate for the non-functional gene.
The first clinical gene therapy was given in 1990 to a 4-year old
girl with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency. This enzyme is
crucial for the immune system to function. The disorder is caused
due to the deletion of the gene for adenosine deaminase. In some
children ADA deficiency can be cured by bone marrow
transplantation; in others it can be treated by enzyme
replacement therapy, in which functional ADA is given to the
patient by injection. But the problem with both of these
approaches that they are not completely curative. As a first step
towards gene therapy, lymphocytes from the blood of the patient
are grown in a culture outside the body. A functional ADA cDNA
(using a retroviral vector) is then introduced into these
lymphocytes, which are subsequently returned to the patient.
However, as these cells are not immortal, the patient requires
periodic infusion of such genetically engineered lymphocytes.
However, if the gene isolate from marrow cells producing ADA is
introduced into cells at early embryonic stages, it could be a
permanent cure.
12.2.3 Molecular Diagnosis
You know that for effective treatment of a disease, early diagnosis and
understanding its pathophysiology is very important. Using conventional
methods of diagnosis (serum and urine analysis, etc.) early detection is
not possible. Recombinant DNA technology, Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR) and Enzyme Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA) are some of the
techniques that serve the purpose of early diagnosis.
Presence of a pathogen (bacteria, viruses, etc.) is normally suspected
only when the pathogen has produced a disease symptom. By this time
the concentration of pathogen is already very high in the body.
However, very low concentration of a bacteria or virus (at a time when
the symptoms of the disease are not yet visible) can be detected by
amplification of their nucleic acid by PCR. Can you explain how PCR can
detect very low amounts of DNA? PCR is now routinely used to detect
HIV in suspected AIDS patients. It is being used to detect mutations in
genes in suspected cancer patients too. It is a powerful techqnique to
identify many other genetic disorders.
A single stranded DNA or RNA, tagged with a radioactive molecule
(probe) is allowed to hybridise to its complementary DNA in a clone of
cells followed by detection using autoradiography. The clone having the
mutated gene will hence not appear on the photographic film, because
the probe will not have complementarity with the mutated gene. ELISA
is based on the principle of antigen-antibody interaction. Infection by
pathogen can be detected by the presence of antigens (proteins,
glycoproteins, etc.) or by detecting the antibodies synthesised against
the pathogen.
12.3 TRANSGENIC ANIMALS
Animals that have had their DNA manipulated to possess and express an
extra (foreign) gene are known as transgenic animals. Transgenic rats,
rabbits, pigs, sheep, cows and fish have been produced, although over 95
percent of all existing transgenic animals are mice. Why are these
animals being produced? How can man benefit from such modifications?
Let us try and explore some of the common reasons:
(i) Normal physiology and development: Transgenic animals can be
specifically designed to allow the study of how genes are regulated, and
how they affect the normal functions of the body and its development,
e.g., study of complex factors involved in growth such as insulin-like
growth factor. By introducing genes from other species that alter the
formation of this factor and studying the biological effects that result,
information is obtained about the biological role of the factor in the
body.
(ii) Study of disease: Many transgenic animals are designed to increase our
understanding of how genes contribute to the development ofdisease.
These are specially made to serve as models for human diseases so that
investigation of new treatments for diseases is made possible. Today
transgenic models exist for many human diseases such as cancer, cystic
fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer’s.
(iii) Biological products: Medicines required to treat certain human diseases
can contain biological products, but such products are often expensive to
make. Transgenic animals that produce useful biological products can be
created by the introduction of the portion of DNA (or genes) which codes
for a particular product such as human protein (α-1-antitrypsin) used to
treat emphysema. Similar attempts are being made for treatment of
phenylketonuria (PKU) and cystic fibrosis. In 1997, the first transgenic
cow, Rosie, produced human protein-enriched milk (2.4 grams per litre).
The milk contained the human alpha-lactalbumin and was nutritionally a
more balanced product for human babies than natural cow-milk.
(iv) Vaccine safety: Transgenic mice are being developed for use in testing
the safety of vaccines before they are used on humans. Transgenic mice
are being used to test the safety of the polio vaccine. If successful and
found to be reliable, they could replace the use of monkeys to test the
safety of batches of the vaccine.
(v) Chemical safety testing: This is known as toxicity/safety testing. The
procedure is the same as that used for testing toxicity of drugs.
Transgenic animals are made that carry genes which make them more
sensitive to toxic substances than non-transgenic animals. They are then
exposed to the toxic substances and the effects studied. Toxicity testing
in such animals will allow us to obtain results in less time.
12.4 ETHICAL ISSUES
The manipulation of living organisms by the human race cannot go on
any further, without regulation. Some ethical standards are required to
evaluate the morality of all human activities that might help or harm
living organisms.
Going beyond the morality of such issues, the biological significance of
such things is also important. Genetic modification of organisms can have
unpredicatable results when such organisms are introduced into the
ecosystem.
Therefore, the Indian Government has set up organisations such as GEAC
(Genetic Engineering Approval Committee), which will make decisions
regarding the validity of GM research and the safety of introducing GM-
organisms for public services.
The modification/usage of living organisms for public services (as food
and medicine sources, for example) has also created problems with
patents granted for the same.
There is growing public anger that certain companies are being granted
patents for products and technologies that make use of the genetic
materials, plants and other biological resources that have long been
identified, developed and used by farmers and indigenous people of a
specific region/country.
Rice is an important food grain, the presence of which goes back
thousands of years in Asia’s agricultural history. There are an estimated
200,000 varieties of rice in India alone. The diversity of rice in India is one
of the richest in the world. Basmati rice is distinct for its unique aroma
and flavour and 27 documented varieties of Basmati are grown in India.
There is reference to Basmati in ancient texts, folklore and poetry, as it
has been grown for centuries. In 1997, an American company got patent
rights on Basmati rice through the US Patent and Trademark Office. This
allowed the company to sell a ‘new’ variety of Basmati, in the US and
abroad. This ‘new’ variety of Basmati had actually been derived from
Indian farmer’s varieties. Indian Basmati was crossed with semi-dwarf
varieties and claimed as an invention or a novelty. The patent extends to
functional equivalents, implying that other people selling Basmati rice
could be restricted by the patent. Several attempts have also been made
to patent uses, products and processes based on Indian traditional herbal
medicines, e.g., turmeric neem. If we are not vigilant and we do not
immediately counter these patent applications, other
countries/individuals may encash on our rich legacy and we may not be
able to do anything about it.
Biopiracy is the term used to refer to the use of bio-resources by
multinational companies and other organisations without proper
authorisation from the countries and people concerned without
compensatory payment.
Most of the industrialised nations are rich financially but poor in
biodiversity and traditional knowledge. In contrast the developing and
the underdeveloped world is rich in biodiversity and traditional
knowledge related to bio-resources. Traditional knowledge related to
bio-resources can be exploited to develop modern applications and can
also be used to save time, effort and expenditure during their
commercialisation.
There has been growing realisation of the injustice, inadequate
compensation and benefit sharing between developed and developing
countries. Therefore, some nations are developing laws to prevent such
unauthorised exploitation of their bio-resources and traditional
knowledge.
The Indian Parliament has recently cleared the second amendment of the
Indian Patents Bill, that takes such issues into consideration, including
patent terms emergency provisions and research and development
initiative.
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Ncert of class 12th
