Welcome to the World of Biotechnology An introduction into the business of biotechnology in Georgia for high school students

What is Biotechnology?  Let’s break it down:  Bio - alive or living  Technology - the application of science to achieve industrial or commercial objectives  So basically, we’re talking about using living materials for a commercial or industrial purpose  Taking living cells and putting them to work for us!!!

A Definition That is a Little More Fun…

Origins of Biotechnology  Although it seems like a new thing, biotechnology has actually been around a while  Domesticated plants and animals are the result of selective breeding (have you ever seen a wild corn plant, not something you’d want to eat)  Using yeast to make bread rise  Using bacteria or yeast to ferment grapes into wine

So Why Should I Care?  Biotechnology aspects all aspects of your everyday life, including: agriculture and food safety, healthcare, law enforcement and environmental issues  Although there are many great career paths involving biotechnology that you may consider, possibly even more importantly, you will soon be voters  You’ll make decisions on the ethics involving legalizing certain types of research  You might be on a jury where biotechnology plays a key part in the evidence presented

The Biotechnology Toolbox  Today, biotechnology is used in three main ways:  Directly using cells  Placing yeast into a bioreactor to ferment grapes  Using the proteins/enzymes made by cells  Isolating antibiotics from bacteria for use in human medicine  Using the genetic material inside of cell  DNA fingerprinting

Just Some of the Latest Advances in the World of Biotechnology  Cloning  DNA fingerprinting  Genetically modified bacteria to synthesize products  Genetically modified foods

Cloning  Creating a genetically identical copy of something (ex. a DNA strand, a cell, an organ or an entire organism)  Single cells and DNA are fairly easy to clone and so this has been done for a comparatively long amount of time  Cloning entire organisms becomes increasingly more difficult the more complex the organism is (ex. Humans are harder to clone than worms) and so it is very recent and for some species has not been perfected yet

How Cloning Works  DNA is extracted from an adult cell  An egg for this same species has it’s DNA removed  The empty egg is filled with the adult DNA  The egg is implanted into a surrogate mother  The baby born from this egg is genetically identical to the adult from which it was cloned  But, it will not share any characteristics that aren’t genetic  It will not be the same age as the animal it was cloned from (it’ll be a baby)

Why Clone?  To create identical cells for research purposes  To maintain a genetically desirable species of plant or animal  To create a missing organ or tissue for treatment of human diseases  To save endangered or extinct species

Some Products of Cloning

DNA Fingerprinting  Identifying the pattern of certain sequences in parts of a person’s DNA to determine if two samples come from the same person, related persons or two, non-related individuals  Only parts of the DNA sequence are used because the whole genome is too long to sequence repeatedly  Everyone has a unique sequence of DNA (even identical twins, although their genomes would be very close to identical)  In order to be an effective tool, we need to get DNA from many people to determine how often certain patterns show up in the population

How DNA Fingerprinting Works  The DNA is isolated from a cell sample and many copies are made with a process called PCR  The DNA is cut into pieces using restriction enzymes (they cut only at specific sequences)  The DNA is run on a gel electrophoresis to separate the pieces (separated based on size)  Probes are used to find certain DNA sequences (usually VNTR sequences)  Comparisons of these pieces of DNA are made to determine identity or relationships

What Does a DNA Fingerprint Look Like?

What can DNA Fingerprints be used for?  Paternity/maternity tests  To determine if a suspect was at a crime scene  To identify a murder victim  To identify a soldier killed in the line of duty  To determine identity

Genetically-Modified Bacteria  Inserting new genes into a bacteria to trick it into making a product for us  Although each bacteria usually doesn’t make much product, millions of bacteria can be grown in bioreactors at the same time, and the product harvested from all of them at once

How are Genetically-Modified Bacteria Created?  A piece of DNA containing the gene for the desired product is cut with restriction enzymes  A plasmid (circular bacterial DNA) is cut with the same restriction enzyme  The piece and the plasmid are ligated (fused together)  The plasmid is transformed into the bacteria  The plasmid either stays in whole or the gene crosses over into the bacteria’s DNA

What Does the Process of Bacterial Transformation Look Like?

Some Products Now Synthesized by Bacteria  Biodiesel fuel  Chemicals to block an HIV infection  Photographs  Human insulin for diabetics  Plastics

Genetically-Modified Foods  Livestock or produce that has received new genes to make the product healthier, resistant to pest or more nutritious  The process is similar to that used to create genetically-modified bacteria, but the genes are being inserted into multi- celled organism instead

How GMO are made  The process varies slightly between each species, particularly between plants and animals, however some aspects are the same  Changes are made to the organism’s DNA by inserting a useful gene into the egg cell  This changed egg is then implanted into a mother and the baby born hopefully has the desired trait

Some Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)

Why make GMOs?  To give plants resistance to certain pests without the use of pesticides  To make plants drought resistant  To make cows that produce more milk  To make vegetables that can undergo long transport without over-ripening  To make chickens that contain extra vitamins that may be missing from our diets

The Ethics of Biotechnology  Despite all the exciting things that biotechnology can do or will do in the near future, there are things to consider:  Would it be ethical to clone a human? Why or why not?  Should your insurance company be allowed to have access to your DNA profile if it detected some disease?  How can the bacteria in bioreactors be disposed of once they are no longer useful?  What happens to the natural balance when GMO are sent out to compete with natural plants in the environment?

Conclusion  We are at the cusp of an exciting time in the world of biology  We are capable to manipulating living cells in ways that would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago  With this new technology comes many new jobs and benefits to mankind  With this new technology comes the need to think through the ethical issues that arise and to wisely weigh the benefits against the drawbacks to make informed decisions as to what research should be encourage and what should not