MBB 1 lecture

April 17, 2013

Bio
 biology
 the science
of life

Technology
 tools and techniques for
a purpose
“[A]ny technique that uses living organisms or
substances from those organisms, to make or
modify a product, improve plants or animals, or
to develop microorganisms for specific uses.”
– The Office of Technology Assessment of the US
Congress

“Any technological application that uses

biological systems, living organisms, or
derivatives thereof, to make or modify products
or processes for specific use”
- UN Convention on Biological Diversity
 The use of living
organisms or their
products to modify
human health and
the human
environment

http://www.rgp.ufl.edu/is/biotechnology/images/biotech_main.png
Disciplines of biotechnology
http://www.fz-juelich.de/ibt/datapool/general/biotechnology.gif
 Domestication and agriculture: 10,000 yrs ago

 Artificial selection

Robert S. Peabody Foundation for Archaeology

p. 3
Today

7000 yrs
ago
 Ancient teosinte (left)
 corn's ancestor
 did not have large ears
 hard, nut-like kernels
distributed in small, feathery
cobs over tertiary branches

Modern corn (maize) (right)

 comes in many varieties
 have ears that contain many
soft kernels.

http://www.koshlandsciencemuseum.org/exhibitdna/crops02.jsp

Photos courtesy of John Doebley

 Slow paced

 Crossing limited to closely-related varieties

 Unpredictable combination of traits

 Gene cloning
or
Molecular cloning
or
Genetic engineering
or
Genetic manipulation
or
rDNA technology
(Recombinant DNA
technology)
 Speed

 Precision

 Unlimited donor-recipient of genes

 Novel products

 Mass production
 Pharmaceuticals and medicine

 Agriculture

 Industry

 Forensics
 According to organism involved:
 Microbial

 Plant

 Animal
 Recombinant Streptomyces
bacteria
 designed
 can produce enzymes
called cellulases
 can break down cellulose on the
way to producing ethanol

Credit: NREL/U.S. Dept. of Energy/Photo Researchers

Barley plant
 head transformed with a
gene for green fluorescent
protein (GFP) using the
gene gun
 The red head is
untransformed; the green
head is transformed.

Native Genetically modified

http://www.glofish.com/images/glofish_005_std.jpg
 http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~wmm024/images/pills.jpg

http://www.rcsed.ac.uk/journal/svol2_2/2703-Fig-6.gif
http://www.achema.de/img/achema_/aufraeumen/w_intro.jpg
http://campus.queens.edu/faculty/jannr/Genetics/images/dnatech/fluorescentTobacco.jp

http://www.mikesjournal.com/August%202006/Genetically%20
modified%20corn.jpg

Luciferase-expressing
tobacco plant
g