Biotechnology
- From the greek words bios, meaning life, and technikos, meaning
involving human knowledge and skills
- The controlled and deliberate manipulation of biological systems
whether living cells or cell components for the efficient
manufacture or processing of useful products.
- The use of living organisms by humans.
- It is the science for our century and it involves biology, chemistry,
physics, engineering computers and information technology to
develop new tools and products.
Traditional Biotechnology
- Refers to a number of ancient ways of using living organisms to
make new products or modify existing ones.
- Can be traced back to human’s transition from hunter to gatherer to
farmer.
As farmers, human collected wild plants and cultivated them and the best yielding strains were
selected for growing the following seasons. Humans discovered that food matures in a way that changes
it taste, content and makes it less perishable.
Through the process of fermentation, flour dough becomes leavened in the making of bread,
grape juice becoming wine and milk stored in bags made from camels’ stomachs turns into cheese.
Examples of traditional biotechnology technique include:
Selective Breeding
Hybridization
Fermentation
Selective breeding is a process used by humans to develop new organisms with desirable
characteristics. Breeders select two parents that have beneficial phenolypic traits to reproduce, yielding
offspring with those desired traits.
Hybridization is the concept of mixing atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals suitable for the
pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds in valence bond theory.
Fermentation is a metabolic process in which an organism converts carbohydrate such as starch
or a sugar into an alcohol or an acid. Ex. Yeast performs fermentation to obtain energy by converting
sugar into alcohol.
Bacteria perform fermentation converting carbohydrates into lactic acid.
The earliest example of biotechnology is the domestication of plants and animals.
, Rice, barley and wheat were among the first domesticated plants.
Wild animals were tamed to provide milk or meat or help with ploughing or guarding the farm.
Dog, sheep and goat are thought to be among the first animals that were domesticated.
Cheese making
- This is the craft of making cheese.
- Like many other food preservation processes, this allows the
nutritional and economic value of a food material (milk) to be
preserved in concentrated form.
Casei Cultures
How Cheese Is Made
1. Add Cultures
- The milk is heated and acidifies as the bacteria eat the lactose in the
milk.
2. Add Rennet
- This creates a protein matrix that coagulates the milk into a semi-
solid.
3. Cutting
- After we see the newly formed curd, we cut it to release the liquid
whey.
4. Stirring/Cooking
- To create texture, the curd is heated and stirred.
5. Draining
- Time to let your curd drain whey. This is when a press is used or
molds.
6. Salting/Drying
- Done: Time to mix in salt and air dry before aging it.
Modern Biotechnology
- Refers to a number of techniques that involve the intentional
manipulation of genes, cells and living tissues in a predictable and
controlled manner to generate changes in the genetic makeup of an
organism or produce new tissue.
- Examples are:
o Recombinant DNA techniques (rDNA or genetic
engineering
o Tissue Culture
o Mutagenesis
Mutagenesis
- From the greek words bios, meaning life, and technikos, meaning
involving human knowledge and skills
- The controlled and deliberate manipulation of biological systems
whether living cells or cell components for the efficient
manufacture or processing of useful products.
- The use of living organisms by humans.
- It is the science for our century and it involves biology, chemistry,
physics, engineering computers and information technology to
develop new tools and products.
Traditional Biotechnology
- Refers to a number of ancient ways of using living organisms to
make new products or modify existing ones.
- Can be traced back to human’s transition from hunter to gatherer to
farmer.
As farmers, human collected wild plants and cultivated them and the best yielding strains were
selected for growing the following seasons. Humans discovered that food matures in a way that changes
it taste, content and makes it less perishable.
Through the process of fermentation, flour dough becomes leavened in the making of bread,
grape juice becoming wine and milk stored in bags made from camels’ stomachs turns into cheese.
Examples of traditional biotechnology technique include:
Selective Breeding
Hybridization
Fermentation
Selective breeding is a process used by humans to develop new organisms with desirable
characteristics. Breeders select two parents that have beneficial phenolypic traits to reproduce, yielding
offspring with those desired traits.
Hybridization is the concept of mixing atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals suitable for the
pairing of electrons to form chemical bonds in valence bond theory.
Fermentation is a metabolic process in which an organism converts carbohydrate such as starch
or a sugar into an alcohol or an acid. Ex. Yeast performs fermentation to obtain energy by converting
sugar into alcohol.
Bacteria perform fermentation converting carbohydrates into lactic acid.
The earliest example of biotechnology is the domestication of plants and animals.
, Rice, barley and wheat were among the first domesticated plants.
Wild animals were tamed to provide milk or meat or help with ploughing or guarding the farm.
Dog, sheep and goat are thought to be among the first animals that were domesticated.
Cheese making
- This is the craft of making cheese.
- Like many other food preservation processes, this allows the
nutritional and economic value of a food material (milk) to be
preserved in concentrated form.
Casei Cultures
How Cheese Is Made
1. Add Cultures
- The milk is heated and acidifies as the bacteria eat the lactose in the
milk.
2. Add Rennet
- This creates a protein matrix that coagulates the milk into a semi-
solid.
3. Cutting
- After we see the newly formed curd, we cut it to release the liquid
whey.
4. Stirring/Cooking
- To create texture, the curd is heated and stirred.
5. Draining
- Time to let your curd drain whey. This is when a press is used or
molds.
6. Salting/Drying
- Done: Time to mix in salt and air dry before aging it.
Modern Biotechnology
- Refers to a number of techniques that involve the intentional
manipulation of genes, cells and living tissues in a predictable and
controlled manner to generate changes in the genetic makeup of an
organism or produce new tissue.
- Examples are:
o Recombinant DNA techniques (rDNA or genetic
engineering
o Tissue Culture
o Mutagenesis
Mutagenesis
