Plant and Animal Biotechnology

Applications
Read Chapter 10

Agriculture (plants and animals)

Humans dependent on crops for food

World population expanding
Requirement of:
Optimization of agriculture efficiency
Increase in productivity

How can this be achieved?

Increase crop yields (new varieties)
Increase nutrition value
Disease resistant plant/crops
Insect resistant plant/crops
Increase post harvest life

Methods for improvement in quality and productivity of crops

1. Classical plant breeding

Practiced since ancient times
Breeds with different desired characteristics are used for deliberate interbreeding
(cross breeding)
Breed 1 (wheat) = Good yield but not resistant to disease
Breed 2 (wheat) = Poor yield but resistant to disease
Cross breed produces progeny (hybrid) with desired trait i.e. disease resistant +
high yielding crop (wheat)

Classical Plant breeding

Modern bio-techniques for improvement of

quality and productivity of crops

1. Micropropagation
2. Protoplast fusion
3. Genetic engineering of plants
Using agrobacter (dicot only)
Gene gun/particle gun/shotgun technique

Micropropagation (Clonal propagation)

The technique of asexual or vegetative propagation
(multiplication) of plants in vitro (test tubes) from small
sections of plant such as stem tip, root tip. node, meristem,
embryo or seed etc.
Steps/stages:
1. Selection of plant material (plant with desired trait)
2. Testing for no infection (virus/bacteria)
3. Establishment of aseptic culture (free from microbes)
4. Callus (mass of undifferentiated cells) formation
5. Multiplication (callus cells)
6. Shoot elongation (specific plant hormones)
7. Root formation (specific plant hormones)
8. Plant establishment in small pots
9. Transplantation in field

Micropropagation
The plus points
Rapid multiplication
Pathogen removal
Uniform plants (clones)
Germplasm stored, not seeds.
Embryos can be rescued.

Banana, Oil Palms, Coffee plants etc

Normal Tissue culture

Somaclonal variation
Cells from a single plant are taken and grown.
It can give rise to variations.

Reasons for variation:

Plant cells can be at different stage of growth
Growth conditions different
Environment conditions different
Mutations
Chromosome number variation

Protoplast FusionHybrid
Tomato

Pomato

Potato

Potato, tomato, pepper, tobacco plants have been regenerated from protoplasts

Plant Genetic Engineering

First practical system for gene transfer

in plants in 1983 using Agrobacterium
tumifaciens (Agrobactor)
Agrobactor contains Ti Plasmid (T-DNA)
Tumor inducing (Ti) plasmid
Ti plasmid is transferred into plant
genome.
Ti Used as vector for inserting gene in
plants (foreign gene incorporated in Ti
plasmid)
Good for dicot plants because
agrobactor infects only dicots
Monocots: gene gun technique
Plant cells are bombarded with plant
DNA coated nanogold particles.

Why genetic engineering for plants?

Interspecies barriers to transfer genes
disappear.
Traditional breeding methods lack in precision.
Improved resistance to herbicides.
Improved resistance to plant pathogens and insect
pests.
Improved post harvest characteristics.

These are also application of plant genetic

engineering/protoplast fusion

Transgenic plant: genetically engineered plants

Insect resistant transgenic crops (Biological Control)
Example: Bt corn or Bt cotton
Bacillus
thuringiensis

Gene for Bt toxin incorporated into cotton, tomato and corn.

Makes it resistant to insect pests

Improving Post harvest

characteristics

NEW FLAVOR SAVER: A tomato modified to contain a flavor gene

from lemon basil won a taste test against regular tomatoes

Transgenic soybean plant

Healthier/high value cooking oils
Contains less saturated fat
Oil produced from these genetically
enginnered plant is good for heart patients

Ethical issues/Biosafety issues

How safe are these crops for human consumption?
Playing with god?
Toxic gene from transgenic plant (corn:fodder for cattle) can enter food crop by accident
Bioterrorist can misuse the technology/steal transgenic organisms for their use
Food produced from genetically engineered plants/animals: harmful? allergies

Read chapter 13 and 14

Animal Biotechnology
Increase milk quantity and quality
Transgenic cow which produces milk with low
cholesterol for heart patients
Disease resistant animals/cattle
Increase size of animal/goat, pig, chicken for
meat production
Fast growing animal for meat production

Selective breeding aims to increase the frequency of a large number of genes

that work together with the remainder of the animals genome to produce the
desired phenotype (characteristic)

'Fat Cattle' - Duke of Bedford and The Triumphs of Selective Breeding

Transgenic Animal An animal that has acquired novel genetic material

by artificial means rather than by normal route of sexual reproduction.
OR genetically engineered animal.

First Transgenic animal Rat with growth hormone gene inserted.

How is transgenic animal

generated?
Foreign gene selection and construction (PCR+
vector).
Microinjection of DNA in to pronucleus (cell
containing separate male and female
nucleus/not fused yet) of fertilized egg.
Implanting these eggs into surrogate mothers.
Developing the embryo to full term.
Checking stable and heritable incorporation of
foreign DNA in the offspring.
Demonstration of transgene being expressed
and producing the desired product.

Pronucleus

Microinjection of DNA into pronucleus is the

main method of gene transfer. It is done by
fine glass needles that allow injection of
DNA into fertilized eggs.

Transgenic animals are used for

biopharmaceutical (human proteins) manufacturing
Used as bioreactors

Production of human proteins of pharmaceutical value

in animal milk

Protein

Animal

Use

Antithrombin
III

Goat

Reduce the amount of blood needed in some

surgeries

Factor VIII,
Factor IX

Goat, Pig,
Sheep

Treatment of hemophilia (bleeding disorder)

(blood clotting protein)

CFTR

Sheep

Treatment of cystic fibrosis

Lactoferrin

Cow

Natural antibiotic and used in coronary surgery

Alpha-1antitrypsin

Sheep

Treatment of cystic fibrosis and emphysema

Lysostaphin

Cow

An anti-bacterial compound that prevents

mastitis in cows

Spider silk
protein

Goat

Production of ultra-strong, lightweight medical

and industrial materials

Biopharmaceutical
(biosynthetic human proteins used for therapeutic )

Insulin: is a hormone important for glucose metabolism in the body.

Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up
glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and
muscle.
Insulin stops the use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is
absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by body cells, and blood
sugar rises causing diabetes
Somatostatin: growth hormone (used to treat dwarfism caused due
to deficiency of hormone in diseased child.)
Interferons: glycoproteins made by our body to fight virus infection
and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Used as medicine to fight
some virus infection/treat cancer.
Lymphokines: proteins made by immune system of our body to fight
various infections (bacteria/fungi/allergy etc)

Gene Therapy
Used for the treatment of diseases by the transfer of normal functional
gene in a patients body cells to restore the function of mutant abnormal
gene.
Two types:
1. Germ cell gene therapy
Healthy gene is introduced in the patients germ cells so that can be passed
on to the offsprings
2. Somatic cell gene therapy
Healthy gene is introduced in patients body cells (somatic) lacking it and is
not passed onto the offspring.

You should be able to answer the following:

(Important)
Define/short note: protplast fusion, gene gun, Ti
plasmid, Bt crops, micropropagation or clonal
propagation, Agrobacterium tumifaciens,
How are plants genetic engineered or transgenic
plants produced. (Ti plasmid used as vector)
How are transgenic animals made?
Application of transgenic animal/animal
biotechnology
Application of plant biotechnology