Unit 1 The Future of Agriculture Topic- Agricultural Applications of Biotechnology

OBJECTIVE 1: Describe how biotechnology directly affects the lives of humans. Biotechnology is a science that uses living things to make new products. Biotechnology: ‘Bio’ meaning biology or living things and ‘technology’ meaning tools.

A. All living things have a blueprint that determines what that organism will look, act, and feel like, or the living thing’s traits. 1. This blueprint is a specific genetic code. 2. This genetic code determines a living things traits. Example (plants): resistance to disease, drought tolerance, fruit size

DNA (Genes) → PROTEINS → TRAITS The Code of Life DNA (the blueprint of life) is like a cookbook with lots of recipes (genes) Humans have about 25,000 genes The number of genes present in an organism varies according to the species. Genes are sections of DNA that code for the production of a particular protein (trait) The proteins made in our bodies determine our traits. DNA (Genes) → PROTEINS → TRAITS

B. Biotechnology can be used to help humans. Biotechnology improves foods and crops by adding specific characteristics that give the plant or animal new benefits. Example Golden rice has been genetically engineered to contain more nutrients (beta carotene & iron) than regular rice. How is this accomplished? A specific gene is taken from one organism and placed into the DNA of another. The second organism will then develop with all its own traits plus the additional trait from the other organism.

OBJECTIVE 3: Explain how biotechnology is applied in agriculture. A. Example #1 Milk Through biotechnology, researchers have been able to increase the amount of milk a dairy cow can produce. This was accomplished by increasing the amount of the bovine growth hormone in the dairy cow. This growth hormone is known as bovine somatotropin (bST). Its job is to control milk secretion by the mammary glands of the cow.

2. Cows naturally produce bST in their bodies but not in large amounts. Biotechnology has allowed researchers to put the gene that controls bST production into the DNA of a harmless bacteria. 3. This bacteria is then injected into the cow’s system, resulting in increased bST production and increased milk production.

4. Through the use of this biotechnology, milk production can be increased by 10 to 25 percent. 5. The milk causes no harmful side effects in humans because bST is a natural hormone that has always been present in milk. 6. There are also no side effects for the cows.

B. Example #2 Insecticides 1. Farmers use insecticides to fight damage to crops caused by insects. Insecticides are traditionally sprayed on the field to kill the harmful bugs. 2. Spraying can sometimes cause environmental problems, such as drifting and runoff into nearby streams.

3. Biotechnology researchers have taken genes from soil bacteria that naturally kill the insects that harm corn and placed these genes into the DNA of the corn. The result is Bt corn, a corn plant that can kill harmful bugs on its own without the use of spray insecticides. This technology has also been used in potatoes, cotton, and rice.

Golden rice was a huge breakthrough for the biotechnology industry. C. Example #3 Golden rice Golden rice was a huge breakthrough for the biotechnology industry. This rice contains increased amounts of beta-carotene and iron. 2. The beta-carotene is made into Vitamin A by the human body and prevents infection and blindness. More than 400 million people worldwide suffer from a Vitamin A deficiency.

3. Iron is needed to maintain the human body. People with an iron deficiency suffer from anemia. There are 3.7 billion people worldwide who do not get enough iron. 4. The creation of golden rice was especially important to people in developing countries who depend on rice as a dietary staple but who were not receiving enough nutrients. The introduction of this rice allowed them to grow rice that was full of needed nutrients. 5. The genes to create this rice came from a number of different sources, one of those being daffodils.