CONCEPT AND SCOPE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Paper Code: 303

History

Concept

Scope of biotechnology

Conclusion

References
 INTRODUCTION
Biotechnology is "the application of biological organisms,
system or processes to manufacturing and service
industries"( British Biotechnologist).
Biotechnology is the use of living organisms and their
components in agriculture, food and other industrial
processes.
Biotechnology is "the application of scientific and
engineering principles of the processing of materials by
biological agents to provide goods and services''(Holt and
Lilley,1982).
 CONCEPT
The origin of biotechnology is as old as human civilization. As
a science it is little more than 100 years old.
Fermentation is the oldest biotechnological process
discovered by the people by prolonged soaking of grains or by
sorting juices of fruits or palms.
Other early processes practiced by man included leavening of
bread, production of alcoholic beverages, production of
vinegar, production of curd, etc.
Nowadays biotechnology has achieved greatest advancement
in the filed of Recombinant DNA technology, PCR, Cell-culture
and fusion, gene cloning, DNA fingerprinting, environmental
engineering, Immunology etc.
 HISTORY
6000 B.C., Sumarians and Babylonians Knew the technique
of preparing beer.
2500 B.C.,Aryans started preparing curd.
2000 B.C., Greeks were probably first to prepare cheese from
milk ( cheese one of the first fermented food).
 1822-1895 Louis Pasteur, "The father of Microbiology and
father of Industrial Biotechnology'‘ discovered that yeast
produced alcohol in wine and rod-shaped bacteria produced
acetic acid, cause souring of wine.
1929, Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotic penicillin.
1973, First successful genetic engineering experiments were
carried out in famous world laboratories.
 SCOPE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary pursuit that has emerged
as a demanding industry during the recent past.
Besides being a branch of advance biological sciences, it has
attracted many multinational companies including those are
concerned with:
• The production of pharmaceutical products for the cure or
control of many human diseases. These products include
antibiotics, vaccines, life saving drugs and gene therapy.
• Improvement of clinical testing and diagnostic tools.
• Production of novel varieties of crop plants and animals.
 Continue….
• Production of wide range of food products, fertilisers,
pesticides and beverages.
• Waste treatment, bioremediation and energy production.
• Production of reagents including enzymes, DNA/RNA, etc.
• Biotechnology has also enhanced the sale of many biological
products in the world market by improving their varieties and
increasing their large scale production.
• These items include alcoholic beverage, antibiotics
(penicillins, tetracyclines etc.), amino acids, enzymes,
vaccines, steroids, vitamins, insulin, human growth hormones,
microbial pesticides, citric acid, improved variety seeds, etc.
 The Infrastructure Advantage
40 National Research 15,000 scientists
Institutes
300 life sciences colleges 5,00,000 graduates per
annum
120 medical colleges 17,500 medical graduates
per annum
200 biotech companies Employing 25,000 scientists
in R & D
Employing medical and
100 teaching hospitals paramedical professionals
 BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY FACTS
There are more than 370 drug products and vaccines currently in
clinical trials targeting more than 200 diseases, including various
cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, multiple
sclerosis, AIDS and arthritis.
Consumers already are enjoying biotechnology foods such as
papaya, soybeans and corn.
Environmental biotechnology products make it possible to clean
up hazardous waste more efficiently by harnessing pollution-
eating microbes without the use of caustic chemicals.
DNA fingerprinting, a biotech process, has dramatically improved
criminal investigation and forensic medicine.
 Continue….
There are 1,466 biotechnology companies in the United
States, of which 318 are publicly held.
The U.S. biotechnology industry employed 194,600 people as
of Dec. 31, 2002; that's more than all the people employed
by the toy and sporting goods industries.
Biotechnology is one of the most research intensive
industries in the world. The U.S. biotech industry spent $20.5
billion on research and development in 2002.
The biotech industry is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
 CONCLUSION
Biotechnology is the production of interaction between
biological science and modern technology.
During last two decades biotechnology has achieved
greatest advancements in the fields of recombinant DNA
technology, Polymerase chain reaction(PCR), gene
cloning, DNA finger-printing etc.
Being a branch of advance biological sciences, it has also
attracted many multinational companies.
Insulin production and production of growth hormones
is one of the greatest blessing of Biotechnology.
 REFERENCES
Gupta,P.K. “Elements of Biotechnology” ,First Edition
(1999), Rastogi Publications,Meerut ,U.P.
Srivastava,H.N. “Plant Physiology, Biochemistry and
Biotechnology”, Tenth Edition (2013), Pradeep
Publication Jalandhar.
Purohit,S.S. “Biotechnology Fundamentals and
Applications”, Third Edition (2004), Agrobios India.