What is biotechnology? - etsEQ

TOPICS IN (NANO)
BIOTECHNOLOGY


Lecture I

25th February, 2004


PhD Course


1. What is Biotechnology?


•
Definitions of Biotechnology

•
Timeline of Biotechnology

•
Techniques used in Biotechnology

•
Who's Who in Biotechnology


2. How is Biotechnology being used?


•
Applications of Biotechnology

•
Medicines on the market today

•
Agriculture
-

GM Foods and Animals

•
DNA fingerprinting and forensic science

•
Gene Therapy and Transgenic Animals

•
Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Cloning



3. What are some of the societal issues Biotechnology
raises?


•
Bioethics / "Genethics"

•
Public attitudes to biotechnology
-

safety, awareness

•
Therapeutic uses of human genes and tissues



Overview

What is biotechnology?

•
Biotechnology = bios (life) + logos (study of or
essence)

–
Literally ‘the study of tools from living things’


•
CLASSIC
:

The

word

"biotechnology"

was

first

used

in

1917

to

describe

processes

using

living

organisms

to

make

a

product

or

run

a

process,

such

as

industrial

fermentations
.

(
Robert

Bud,

The

Uses

of

Life
:

A

History

of

Biotechnology
)


•
LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans began
to plant their own crops, domesticate animals,
ferment juice into wine, make cheese, and leaven
bread (
AccesExcellence)




What is biotechnology?

•
GENENTECH
:

Biotechnology

is

the

process

of

harnessing

'nature's

own'

biochemical

tools

to

make

possible

new

products

and

processes

and

provide

solutions

to

society's

ills

(G
.

Kirk

Raab,

Former

President

and

CEO

of

Genentech)


•
WEBSTER’S
:

The

aspect

of

technology

concerned

with

the

application

of

living

organisms

to

meet

the

needs

and

ends

of

man
.


•
WALL

STREET
:

Biotechnology

is

the

application

of

genetic

engineering

and

DNA

technology

to

produce

therapeutic

and

medical

diagnostic

products

and

processes
.

Biotech

companies

have

one

thing

in

common

-

the

use

of

genetic

engineering

and

manipulation

of

organisms

at

a

molecular

level
.


What is biotechnology?

•
Using

scientific

methods

with

organisms

to

produce

new

products

or

new

forms

of

organisms


•
Any

technique

that

uses

living

organisms

or

substances

from

those

organisms

or

substances

from

those

organisms

to

make

or

modify

a

product,

to

improve

plants

or

animals,

or

to

develop

microorganisms

for

specific

uses


What is biotechnology?

•
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinarian in nature,
involving input from


•
Engineering

•
Computer Science

•
Cell and Molecular Biology

•
Microbiology

•
Genetics

•
Physiology

•
Biochemistry

•
Immunology

•
Virology

•
Recombinant DNA Technology


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the development of specific products









What are the stages of biotechnology?

•
Ancient Biotechnology

•
early history as related to food and shelter,
including domestication


•
Classical Biotechnology

•
built on ancient biotechnology

•
fermentation promoted food production

•
medicine


•
Modern Biotechnology

•
manipulates genetic information in organism

•
genetic engineering









Ancient biotechnology

•
Paleolithic society
–

Hunter
-
gatherers


Nomadic
lifestyle due to migratory animals and edible plant
distribution (wild wheat and barley) (~2 x 10
6

yrs.)

•
Followed by domestication of plants and animals
(artificial selection)


People settled, sedentary
lifestyles evolved (~10,000 yrs. ago)

•
Cultivation of wheat, barley and rye (seed
collections)

•
Sheep and goats


milk, cheese, button and
meat

•
Grinding stones for food preparation

•
New technology


Origins of Biotechnology


Agrarian Societies







•
History

of

domestication

and

agriculture

History

of

domestication

and

agriculture

History

of

domestication

and

agriculture

History of domestication and agriculture

•

Long history of fermented foods since people
began to settle (9000 BC) (fervere
–
to boil)


•

Often discovered by accident!


•

Improved flavor and texture


•

Deliberate contamination with bacteria or
fungi (molds)


•

Examples:

•
Bread

•
Yogurt

•
Sour cream

•
Cheese

•
Wine

•
Beer

•
Sauerkraut

Ancient biotechnology

Fermented foods and beverages

•

Dough not baked immediately would undergo
spontaneous fermentation


would rise


Eureka!!


•

Uncooked fermented dough could be used to
ferment a new batch


no longer reliant on
“chance fermentation”


•

1866
–

Louis Pasteur published his findings on
the direct link between yeast and sugars


CO
2

+
ethanol (anaerobic process)


•

1915
–

Production of baker’s yeast
–

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ancient biotechnology

Fermented foods and beverages

•
Different types of beer

•
Vinegar

•
Glycerol

•
Acetone

•
Butanol

•
Lactic acid

•
Citric acid

•
Antibiotics
–

WWII (Bioreactor developed for large
scale production, e.g. penicilin made by fermentation
of penicillium)

•
Today many different antibiotics are produced by
microorganisms

•
Cephalosporins, bacitracin, neomycin,
tetracycline……..)

Classical biotechnology

Industry today exploits early discoveries of the fermentation
process for production of huge numbers of products

•

Substrate


+ Microbial Enzyme


Product


•

Examples:

•

Cholesterol


Steroids (cortisone, estrogen,
progesterone) (hydroxylation reaction


-
OH
group added to cholesterol ring)

Classical biotechnology

Chemical transformations to produce therapeutic
products

•

Amino acids to improve food taste, quality or
preservation


•

Enzymes (cellulase, collagenase, diastase,
glucose isomerase, invertase, lipase, pectinase,
protease)


•

Vitamins


•

Pigments

Classical biotechnology

Microbial synthesis of other commercially valuable
products

•

Cell biology

•

Structure, organization and reproduction


•

Biochemistry

•

Synthesis of organic compounds

•

Cell extracts for fermentation (enzymes
versus whole cells)


•

Genetics

•

Resurrection of Gregor Mendel’s findings


1866


1900s

•

Theory of Inheritance (ratios dependent on traits of
parents)

•

Theory of Transmission factors


•

W.H. Sutton
–

1902

•

Chromosomes = inheritance factors


•

T.H. Morgan
–

Drosophila melanogaster


Modern biotechnology


Molecular Biology


•

Beadle and Tatum (Neurospora crassa)

•

One gene, one enzyme hypothesis

•

Charles Yanofsky


colinearity
between mutations in genes and amino
acid sequence (
E. coli
)

•

Genes determine structure of proteins


•

Hershey and Chase
–

1952

•

T2 bacteriophage
–

32
P DNA, not
35
S protein
is the material that encodes genetic
information


Modern biotechnology



•

Watson, Crick, Franklin and Wilkins (1953)

•

X
-
ray crystallography

•

1962
–

Nobel Prize awarded to three men

•

Chargaff
–

DNA base ratios

•

Structural model of DNA developed


•

DNA Revolution
–

Promise and Controversy!!!


•

Scientific foundation of modern biotechnology

•

based on knowledge of DNA, its replication,
repair and use of enzymes to carry out in vitro
splicing DNA fragments


Modern biotechnology

•

Breaking the Genetic Code
–

Finding the Central
Dogma


•

An “RNA Club” organized by George Gamow (1954)
assembled to determine the role of RNA in protein
synthesis


•

Vernon Ingram’s research on sickle cell anemia (1956)
tied together inheritable diseases with protein structure

•

Link made between amino acids and DNA


•

Radioactive tagging experiments demonstrate
intermediate between DNA and protein = RNA

•

RNA movement tracked from nucleus to cytoplasm


site of
protein synthesis


Modern biotechnology

•

DNA


RNA


Protein


Transcription

Translation


Genetic code determined for all 20 amino acids by
Marshal Nirenberg and Heinrich Matthaei and Gobind
Khorana
–

Nobel Prize
–

1968


•

3 base sequence = codon


Modern biotechnology

What are the areas of biotechnology?

•
Organismic biotechnology

•
uses intact organisms and does not alter genetic
material


•
Molecular Biotechnology

•
alters genetic makeup to achieve specific goals



Transgenic organism: an organism with artificially
altered genetic material









What are the benefits of
biotechnology?

•
Medicine

•
human

•
veterinary

•
biopharming


•
Environment

•
Agriculture

•
Food products

•
Industry and manufacturing










What are the applications of biotechnology?

•
Production of new and improved crops/foods,
industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and livestock

•
Diagnostics for detecting genetic diseases

•
Gene therapy (e.g. ADA, CF)

•
Vaccine development (recombinant vaccines)

•
Environmental restoration

•
Protection of endangered species

•
Conservation biology

•
Bioremediation

•
Forensic applications

•
Food processing (cheese, beer)







Monoclonal

Antibodies

Molecular

Biology

Cell

Culture

Genetic
Engineering

Anti
-
cancer drugs

Diagnostics

Culture of plants
from single cells

Transfer of new
genes into animal
organisms

Synthesis of
specific DNA
probes

Localisation of
genetic disorders

Tracers

Cloning

Gene therapy

Mass prodn. of
human proteins

Resource bank
for rare human
chemicals

Synthesis
of new
proteins

New
antibiotics

New types of
plants and
animals

New types
of food

DNA
technology

Crime solving

Banks of
DNA, RNA
and proteins

Complete
map of the
human
genome

Biotechnology Timeline

1750 BC

The Sumerians brew beer.

500 BC

Chinese use moldy soybean



curds as an antibiotic to treat



boils

1590


Janssen invents the microscope



1675


Leeuwenhoek discovers cells



(bacteria, red blood cells)

1830


Proteins are discovered

1833


The first enzymes are isolated

1855


The
Eschirium coli

bacterium


is discovered

Biotechnology Timeline

1859


Charles Darwin publishes
On


the Origin of Species


1864


Louis Pasteur shows all living


things are produced by other



living things

1865


The age of genetics begins

1902


Walter Sutton coins the term



‘gene’
-

proposed that



chromosomes carry genes

Biotechnology Timeline

1910


Chromosomal theory of



inheritance proved

1928


Fleming discovers antibiotic



properties of certain molds

1941


George Beadle and Edward Tatum propose


that one gene makes one protein

1949


Sickle cell anaemia demonstrated to be


molecular disease

Biotechnology Timeline

1952


The ‘Waring Blender’



experiment

1953


The double helix is unravelled

1967


The genetic code is cracked

1973


Recombinant DNA




technology begins

1975


First international conference


on recombinant DNA




technology

Biotechnology Timeline

1975


Monoclonal antibody




technology introduced

1975


DNA sequencing discovered

1978


Genentech Inc. established

1978


Genentech use genetic engineering to produce


human insulin in
E.coli
-

1980 IPO of $89

1978


Kary Mullis discovers PCR

Biotechnology Timeline

1989


The Human Genome Project begins

1990


First use of gene therapy

1990


First product of recombinant



DNA technology introduced



into US food chain

1993


FDA announces that




transgenic food is safe

1994


The FLAVRSAVR tomato
-




first genetically engineered



whole food

Biotechnology Timeline

1996


First mammal cloned from adult


cells

1990s


First conviction using genetic


fingerprinting

1996


Development of Affymetrix



GeneChip

1997


First artificial chromosome

History of Biotechnology

1998


Human embryonic stem cells



grown

1999


Celera announces completion


of Drosophilia genome



sequence

2000


90% of Human Genome



sequence published on web

2001


Human genome project



complete

Ex
c
ercise

•
Choose

3

scientists

who

have

contributed

to

the

biotechnology

revolution

and

write

a

paragraph

describing

their

input

•
Discover

more

about

the

Asilomar

conference

and

decribe

its

signficance

on

the

use

of

recombinant

DNA

technology

•
Discover

more

about

what

led

to

the

death

of

the

FLAVRSAVR

tomato
.

•
Follow

one

‘linked

set

of

discoveries’

outlining

the

path

from

the

first

experiment

to

today
.



Ex
c
ercise

•
Compare

and

argue

both

sides

of

Monsanto

vs

Greenpeace

on

the

theme

of

genetically

modified

food

•
Outline

the

IMCLONE

story

and

explain

the

potential

impact

on

biotechnology

industry
.

•
Argue

both

for

and

against

the

use

of

human

embryonic

stem

cells

and

outline

international

stance

on

this

research
.

•
Outline

the

story

of

the

race

to

unravel

DNA
.



Discussion

•
What

is

the

societal

impression

of

biotechnology?

•
What

are

the

negative

impacts

that

biotechnology

may

have?

•
What

are

the

potential

ethical

issues

associated

with

biotechnology?

•
Why

are

biotechnology

companies

targeted

by

anti
-
globalisation

protesters?

•
How

can

the

image

of

biotechnology

to

the

public

be

improved?

Should

it

be

improved?

•
What

are

the

potential

dangers

of

biotechnology?



Useful Resources

•
http://www.geocities.com/cwfennhcc/bi200/intro.html


•
http://www.geocities.com/cwfennhcc/bi200/quiz1.htm


•
http://www.accessexcellence.org/


•
The Uses Of Life
–

A History of Biotechnology (Robert
Bud)