1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Melaine Randle, B.Sc. (Hons), PhD. Candidate
The Biotechnology Centre

2. What Is Biotechnology?
Manipulation of living organisms, systems to develop products.
Term coined by Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky in 1919.
Field integrates knowledge from biochemistry, chemistry, microbiology and chemical engineering.
Includes genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology and development of pharmaceutical, diagnostic tests.

3. History
Used in agriculture, food production and medicine for thousands of years.
Bred productive animals to make stronger and more productive offsprings.
Fermentation: yeast cells to raise bread dough, ferment alcoholic beverages.
Microbial cultures; bacterial cells used to make cheeses and yogurts.

4. History
Weizmann (1917), C. acetobutylicum corn starch acetone explosives (WWI).
Clostridium
acetobutylicum
Antibiotics: Penicillium notatum (Alexander Flemming, 1928).
Penicillin (Florey, Chain, Heatley). Medicinal use (1940).
Penicillium notatum

5. Applications Medical Drug production (eg. Insulin, antibiotics)
Pharmacogenomics (genetic inheritance and response to drugs)
Gene Therapy (replace defective genes)
Genetic testing for diseases eg. Down’s Syndrome, Amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus sampling.

6. Applications Chemical Industry Food Industry
Production of bulk chemicals eg. Ethanol, citric acid, acetone, butanol
Synthesis of enzymes, amino acids, alkaloids
Food Industry
Production of baker’s yeast, cheese, yogurt, soy sauce, flavours, colouring agents
Brewing and wine making

7. Applications Agriculture Crop yield
Reduce vulnerability of crops to environmetal stresses
Increased nutritional qualities
Improved taste, texture or appearance of food
Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides
Production of novel substances in crops
Animal Biotechnology

8. Applications Environment
Bioremediation of soil and water polluted with chemicals
Treatment of sewage and other organic waste
Recovery of heavy metals from industrial sources

9. Biotechnology Techniques
DNA Isolation
DNA Amplification
DNA Cloning
Restriction Enzyme Digestion
Gel Electrophoresis
DNA Sequencing

10. DNA Isolation

11. DNA Amplification Polymerase Chain Reaction Kary Mullis (1986)
Creates millions of copies of specific DNA sequence synthetically via thermal cycler
Materials needed:
DNA template
dNTPs (dinucleotide triphosphates)
Taq DNA Polymearse
Primers
Reaction buffer (+ sterile water)

12. PCR Steps
Denaturation
Annealing
Extension

13. DNA Cloning

14. Restriction Enzyme Digestion
Restriction enzymes
Short nucleotide sequences
(4-8 bp)
Recognize and cleave DNA
at specific sites

15. Gel Electrophoresis Separation and size determination of DNA fragments
Gel (agarose / polyacrylamide) in buffer
Electrical voltage
DNA moves from – electrode to + electrode

16. Gel Electrophoresis DNA on gel visualized under
UV exposure after ethidium
bromide staining (carcinogenic)
DNA Fragments on Agarose Gel

17. DNA Sequencing
Dideoxy chain termination method (Sanger, 1975); Maxam and Gilbert Chemical Cleavage method
Currently – automated sequencing
Array of nucleoide bases in a sequence of DNA

18. DNA Sequencing Theory similar to Sanger Sequencing
4 different dNTPs tagged with 4 different
fluorescent dyes in single tube
All 4 tagged dNTPs electrophoresed on
a gel in one lane
Fragments still separate by size but show
as coloured bands
Colours have different wavelengths read
by computer
Computer translates colours into order of
nucleotides

19. Automated Sequencing
Chromatogram / spectrograph

20. Controversial Biotech Advances
Flavr savr tomato (Calgene) approved for commercial sale (1994)
Flavr Savr Tomatoes

21. Controversial Biotech Advances
Cloning of Dolly, the sheep (1996)
First mammal cloned from adult somatic cells
Dolly

22. Controversial Biotech Advances
Embryonic Stem Cells Grown (James Thomson,1998)
Human Stem Cell Culture

23. Controversial Biotech Advances
Human genome project (2000)
Map 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA (2003)
Potential benefits - better understanding of human evolution, how to better treat diseases

24. Biotech Concerns Harm to Environment – effect of GMOs on ecosystem
Bioterrorism- terrorists create new Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins, which are incurable
Lab or production safety – concern for lab techs when working with organisms of unknown virulence.
Ethical issues – is cloning sacrilegious?

25. Biotech Earnings Several Biotech companies worldwide
Earnings exceed USD billions annually.
B$10 in 3rd quarter 2005 for just 25 biotech companies
Monsanto earned B$8.3 in 2008
US AgBiotech earned M$107.5 (1993), earned B$10 (2000)
AgBiotech earned B$100 (2010)
Herbal Biotech B$8

26. Biotechnology in Jamaica
Biotechnology Centre (University of the West Indies)
Scientific Research Council
Coconut Industry Board

27. The Biotechnology Centre - UWI
Established in 1989
Develop the research capabilities and training programmes in biotechnology
(post-graduate students)

28. BTC – Current Projects Plant tissue culture
indigenous medicinal plant bank
Production of disease-free yam (Dioscorea sp) plantlets
Improvements in micro-propagation methods

29. BTC- Projects Plant genetic transformation
Resistance to Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) Production of papaya for human consumption, either fresh or processed Cornell University, USA & UWI, Jamaica
Papaya

30. BTC- Projects Plant Genetic Transformation
Resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV-Is) Production of tomatoes for human consumption, either fresh or processed UW-Madison, Hebrew Univ., UWI
TYLCV

31. BTC - Projects Plant molecular virology
Molecular diagnostics based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique had been developed for detecting geminiviruses, lethal yellowing (LY) phytoplasma, and Citrus tristeza virus (CTV)

32. Career Possibilities Biotechnology companies
Major drug companies (biotechnology divisions).
Chemical companies with large agricultural chemical businesses also have substantial biotechnology labs
Researcher; Chemist; Research Assistant
Lab Tech

33. Education and Training
Bachelor's degree
most scientists say it is necessary to have a Ph.D. to be given the responsibility to do creative work

34. Conclusion Biotechnology offers great promise in:
Improving the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary diseases
Formulation and manufacture of safer drugs
Production of environmentally friendly herbicides and pesticides
Improvement in microbial processes to clean up the environment
Making these promises a reality require effort and revision of several assumptions

35. Thank You