Biotechnology & Its Applications
3 Critical Areas of Biotechnology
1. Providing the best catalyst in the form of improved organism or
enzyme.
2. Creating optimal conditions through engineering for a catalyst to act.
3. Downstream processing technologies to purify organic compounds.
Application of Biotechnology in Agriculture
We have these options for increasing food production:
1. Agrochemical-based agriculture
2. Organic agriculture
3. Genetically engineered crop-based agriculture
Dr. Norman Borlaug (American) – Green revolution
Father of Indian Green Revolution – M.S. Swaminathan
Tissue Culture
Whole plant could be regenerated from explant (any part of plant grown
in a test tube).
Explant grows under sterile conditions in special nutrient media.
The capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell or explant is called
totipotency.
Tissue culture started during 1950s.
, The nutrient media for tissue culture must provide a carbon source such
as sucrose and also inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth
regulators like auxin, cytokinin, etc.
Micropropagation
It is possible to achieve propagation of a large number of plants in a
very short duration.
Each of these plants will be genetically identical to the original plant –
they are somaclones.
Many important food plants like tomato, banana, and apple have been
produced using this method.
Another important application of tissue culture is the recovery of
healthy plants from diseased plants.
The meristem culture (apical, axillary) – the meristem is free of virus.
Hence, remove the virus-free meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain
virus-free plants.
Somatic Hybridisation (Protoplast Fusion)
Scientists have isolated single cells from plants and after digesting the
cell wall, have been able to isolate naked protoplasts.
Isolated protoplasts from two different varieties of plants can be fused
to get hybrid protoplasts, which can be further grown to form new
plants.
These hybrids are called somatic hybrids and the process is called
somatic hybridisation.
Example: Pomato
Genetically Modified (GM) Plants
GM plants have been useful in many ways:
1. Made crops more tolerant to abiotic stress (cold, drought, salt, heat)
3 Critical Areas of Biotechnology
1. Providing the best catalyst in the form of improved organism or
enzyme.
2. Creating optimal conditions through engineering for a catalyst to act.
3. Downstream processing technologies to purify organic compounds.
Application of Biotechnology in Agriculture
We have these options for increasing food production:
1. Agrochemical-based agriculture
2. Organic agriculture
3. Genetically engineered crop-based agriculture
Dr. Norman Borlaug (American) – Green revolution
Father of Indian Green Revolution – M.S. Swaminathan
Tissue Culture
Whole plant could be regenerated from explant (any part of plant grown
in a test tube).
Explant grows under sterile conditions in special nutrient media.
The capacity to generate a whole plant from any cell or explant is called
totipotency.
Tissue culture started during 1950s.
, The nutrient media for tissue culture must provide a carbon source such
as sucrose and also inorganic salts, vitamins, amino acids, and growth
regulators like auxin, cytokinin, etc.
Micropropagation
It is possible to achieve propagation of a large number of plants in a
very short duration.
Each of these plants will be genetically identical to the original plant –
they are somaclones.
Many important food plants like tomato, banana, and apple have been
produced using this method.
Another important application of tissue culture is the recovery of
healthy plants from diseased plants.
The meristem culture (apical, axillary) – the meristem is free of virus.
Hence, remove the virus-free meristem and grow it in vitro to obtain
virus-free plants.
Somatic Hybridisation (Protoplast Fusion)
Scientists have isolated single cells from plants and after digesting the
cell wall, have been able to isolate naked protoplasts.
Isolated protoplasts from two different varieties of plants can be fused
to get hybrid protoplasts, which can be further grown to form new
plants.
These hybrids are called somatic hybrids and the process is called
somatic hybridisation.
Example: Pomato
Genetically Modified (GM) Plants
GM plants have been useful in many ways:
1. Made crops more tolerant to abiotic stress (cold, drought, salt, heat)
