Scope of Biotechnology

Biotechnology may be as old as human civilization, but modern biotechnology is less than three decades old. Traditional biotechnology that led to the development of processes for producing products like vinegar, alcohol, and cheese was entirely empirical and bereft of any understanding of the mechanisms that led to the product. There was no possibility of deliberate design to produce a desired new product.

In modern biotechnology, we use the in depth understanding we have gained in the last five decades. A variety of functions are performed by living organisms to produce a desired new or old product. In the case of an established product, the biotechnological process is cheaper and better in many respects than the earlier processes. Modern biotechnology has been, infect, an historical imperative. Its emergence on the world scene was predicated at least four decades ago.

The term genetic engineering was coined independently in 1973 by the author of an article in the Guardian in the UK, and in a syndicated article by the present author in India.

Protein Engineering –

High fructose corn syrup which is used as sweetening agent in soft drink .

Gene technology

Large variety of product are produced. Electrophoresis, sequencing technique, PCR etc. are used commonly by researcher

Medicine

Insulin production – r DNA vaccines gene therapy interpherones and DNA finger printing

Monoclonal Antibodies.

Diagnosis prevention and treatment of various disease , Immunotoxin help in the transfer of specific drugs to the desired target site of killing tumor –cell. Detection of virus in animal and plant

Metabolic Engineering

Shikonin an antimicrobial and a red-colored pigment that is generally used in dying silk and used in lipistcs is produced commercially with the help of bioreactors. • •.

Plants –

Stress tolerance, embryo rescue, Flavr savr tomato, Golden Rice, edible vaccines. Somatic hybrids, molecular farming and germplasm conservation.

Animals –

Tissue plasminogen activator, (t-PA) erythropoietin, stem cell technology in vitro fertilization embryo transfer and transgenic animals.

Industry

Antibiotic, single cell protein, biofules, steroids and other pharmaceutical drugs.

Environment –

Biodiversity conservation restoration of degraded lands, developent of strss tolerant species of Mycorrhiza (VAM fungi) conservation of species bioremediation, biosensers and biochips, biocontrol agent (Biopesticides and bioherbicides and biofertilizers