What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology can be summarized as the manipulation of living organisms to produce goods and services. Although the technology has received widespread media coverage in the past few years, it is a technology with a long history, dating as far back as 6000 B.C. A Brief History of Biotechnology The term biotechnology was coined in 1919 by a Hungarian engineer called Karl Ereky. However, its origins date back further than that. The history of biotechnology can be divided into two eras: traditional and modern biotechnology. Traditional biotechnology dates back thousands of years, to early farming societies in which people collected seeds of plants with the most desirable traits for planting the following year. This practice is now known asselective breeding. The same selective breeding practices were used by early Babylonians, Egyptians, and Romans to improve livestock. As far back as 6000 B.C., natural processes such as fermentation, in which microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts and moulds play a critical role, were used to produce bread, beer and wine. Gregor Mendel's study of genetics, using seed and plant experiments at the end of the 19th century, gave the first indications of the cross from traditional to modern biotechnology. He discovered that traits are transmitted from parents to offspring by discrete, independent units, later called genes. His observations laid the groundwork for the field of genetics. In 1943, the first direct evidence that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, carried genetic information was discovered. However, it wasn't until 1953 that the mystery of the structure of DNA and the way genetic information is passed from generation to generation was unlocked by the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. The era of 'modern biotechnology', which involves manipulation of genes from living organisms in more precise and controlled ways than traditional biotechnology, began with their discovery. In 1985, genetically engineered plants resistant to insects, viruses, and bacteria were tested for the first time. Since then, many genetically engineered plants have been developed, successfully field tested and received food, livestock feed and environmental safety approval in many countries, including Canada. It was also in 1985 that a plan for mapping and
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sequencing the human genome was made. The goal of this Human Genome Initiative, which was launched in 1990, was to map all of the 80,000 to100,000 human genes by the year 2003. Biotechnology Techniques Biotechnology can be best understood as an umbrella term referring to a variety of techniques, both traditional and modern. Note that some traditional techniques, such as selective breeding, hybridization and mutagenesis, are used in current applications of biotechnology, only with increased scientific knowledge and more advanced technology.These include: Fermentation: The breakdown of complex organic substances by microorganisms, in the absence of oxygen. The process is energy-yielding. Selective breeding: The breeding of selected plants and animals to produce offspring with desired traits. The offspring with the desired traits are then used as breeding stock for the next generation and so on, until offspring that express the desired traits are obtained. Hybridization: The production of offspring, known as hybrids, from genetically dissimilar parents. The object of hybridization is to combine desirable genes found in two or more different varieties to produce purebreeding offspring superior in many respects to the parental types. Mutagenesis: The use of mutagens (such as exposure to radiation, temperature extremes and certain chemicals), to cause changes in the genetic make-up of cells, possibly resulting in new desirable, inheritable traits. Recombinant DNA (rDNA) techniques: The application of genetic techniques to produce desirable traits in living organisms using other living organisms such as bacteria. Examples of these techniques include the use of: restriction endonucleases (enzymes, produced by bacteria, that break foreign DNA molecules with the gene of interest into fragments which recombine with complementary molecules from a different source to form a recombinant DNA molecule); vectors (plasmids, often bacterial, or viruses that carry a piece of DNA into a bacterium for cloning purposes); and gene guns (called DNA particle guns and used to fire genes into cells by coating the genes onto tiny gold or tungsten particles and firing them from the barrel of the gun).
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Tissue Culture: A biological technique in which fragments of plant or animal tissue or cells are transferred to an artificial environment, free of other organisms, in which they continue to survive and function for reproduction, chemical production and medical research. Applications of Biotechnology Modern biotechnology techniques are currently being used in many areas such as food, agriculture, health care, forestry, the environment, minerals, oil and gas recovery and industrial processes to develop new products and processes, and to modify existing ones. Summarized below are some of the ways that modern biotechnology techniques have been applied in these areas. Food and Agriculture One of the most extensive applications of biotechnology has been in agriculture. Biotechnology techniques such as recombinant DNA techniques and mutagenesis have been used to develop plants with novel traits. These traits include herbicide tolerance and pest, insect and virus resistance. Biotechnology techniques have been used to produce biopesticides which are toxic to targeted plant pests. Also, experiments into genetic modification of aquatic organisms such as salmon, for such novel traits as enhanced growth, have been carried out using recombinant DNA techniques. Health Care To date, applications of biotechnology in health care have focused on fighting disease using the human body's own 'weapons'. Biotechnology medicines and therapies synthesize proteins, enzymes, antibodies and other substances which occur naturally in the human body, to fight infections and diseases. However, biotechnology also uses other living organisms, that is, plant and animal cells, viruses and yeasts to help produce human medicines. There are four main areas in health care in which biotechnology is currently being used: medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and gene therapy. Several biotechnology medicines have been developed and approved to treat such diseases as anaemia, growth deficiency in children, hemophilia, diabetes and others. Biotechnology companies have also developed therapeutic products for infectious agents such as HIV, hepatitis B and influenza. Biotechnology is responsible for new vaccines such as the hepatitis B vaccine which was approved in the U.S. to fight the hepatitis B virus.
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Biotechnology diagnostics have been used to detect a wide variety of diseases and genetic conditions. For example, gene therapy is used diagnostically to screen donated blood to protect the blood supply from HIV and hepatitis. Biotechnology diagnostics are also used in home pregnancy tests. In a home pregnancy test kit, a protein called a monoclonal antibody (MAb), binds to Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG), causing a colour change. HCG is present in a woman's urine only during pregnancy. In gene therapy, genes are used as 'drugs' to treat hereditary genetic disorders. Faulty or missing genes can be replaced to prevent the occurrence of a genetic disease. Current gene therapy is primarily experiment-based, with a few human clinical trials, such as for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, in the early stages. Environment Biotechnology applications in the environment focus on using living organisms primarily to treat waste and prevent pollution. Examples of these applications include bio-filtration and bio-remediation. Bio-filtration refers to the use of microorganisms to remove complex pollutants from the air emissions and waste water discharges of many manufacturing processes. Bio-remediation refers to a number of processes that use living organisms to degrade toxic waste into harmless by-products such as water, carbon dioxide and other materials. Examples of bio- remediation processes include: Bio-stimulation: A technique which involves introducing nutrients to stimulate the growth of waste-eating microorganisms already present in the environment at a waste site. Bio-augmentation: A technique whereby microorganisms, not normally present in the ecosystem of a contaminated site, are added to the site to clean up pollutants. The microorganisms added may be natural or genetically modified. The organisms die when their food is used up. Phytoremediation: A technique which uses certain plants and fungi, planted at waste sites, to naturally reclaim the sites without using chemical treatment, incineration or land filling. These plants and fungi are used because they flourish by accumulating metals and other waste materials present in the soil. Forestry

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To date, only a few biotechnology-derived products and processes used in forestry have been commercialized. Most biotechnology applications in forestry are still in the research and development stage. However, some commercial applications include the development of bacterial bio-pesticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), as an alternative to chemical pesticides. Tissue culture technology is also being used to produce genetically modified seedlings for forest regeneration. For example, BCRI Inc., a biotechnology company in British Columbia, is using tissue culture to produce weevilresistant Sitka spruce. Companies are also developing bio-fertilizers such as plant growth-promoting rhizobia bacterial fertilizers. In addition, genetic engineering has been used to develop traits of agronomic interest such as pest and disease resistance, within trees. The pulp and paper industry has used enzymes and microorganisms in their bio-bleaching and de-inking processes. Industrial Processes Biotechnology has been applied in a variety of industrial processes in different ways, particularly in the use of biocatalysts in manufacturing processes. Biocatalysts are substances that initiate or modify the rate of a biological process and are generally consumed in the process. Some examples of industrial processes where biotechnology has been applied include chemicals, starch/grain processing, cleaning and textile industrial processes. In the chemicals industry, biotechnology has been used to produce commodity and specialty chemicals. It is also used in the starch and grain processing industries through the use of enzymes to turn starch into glucose and fructose. Corn and other grains can be converted to sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup and maltose syrup, using enzymes. Biotechnology applications have been used to produce ethanol from grain. Furthermore, biotechnology is used in the textile industry for the finishing of fabrics and garments. In the pulp and paper industry, bio-pulping is used to manufacture some products. Metals and Minerals Recovery Biotechnology has been used in the mining industry in such processes as bio-leaching and metal bio-remediation and recovery. Bio-leaching is the use of bacteria to extract valuable metals. Metal bio-remediation and recovery refers to the use of biologically created enzymes in the degreasing process to recover metals of value.
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Energy To date, biotechnology applications in the energy industry include the production of cleaner coal and petroleum by removing sulfur and thus reducing the environmental contaminants released during combustion. Biotechnology has also been used widely to produce bio fuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. Bio fuels are alcohols, ethers, esters and other organic chemicals made from biomass such as herbaceous and woody plants, agricultural and forestry residues and industrial waste. These fuels can be used for electricity and as fuels for transportation.
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Human Gene Therapy: Present and Future. {www.med.upenn.edu/ihgt/info/prospcts.html} Canada. Issue No. 11. March/April 1999. {www.ec.gc.ca/science/sandemar99/article2_e.html} Facts and Figures: Backgrounders. {www.phrma.org/facts/bkgrndr/promise.html} Biocatalyst. {www.obio.com/biocatal.htm}

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