UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS
GOV. PACK ROAD, BAGUIO CITY
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
BIOTECHNOLOGY
What is biotechnology?
Literally --- the study of tools from living things
CLASSIC: The word "biotechnology" was first used in 1917 to describe processes
using living organisms to make a product or run a process, such as industrial
fermentations.
LAYMAN: Biotechnology began when humans began to plant their own crops,
domesticate animals, ferment juice into wine, make cheese, and leaven bread.
WEBSTER’S: The aspect of technology concerned with the application of living
organisms to meet the needs and ends of man.
GENENTECH: Biotechnology is the process of harnessing 'nature's own' biochemical
tools to make possible new products and processes and provide solutions to
society's ills.
WALL STREET: Biotechnology is the application of genetic engineering and DNA
technology to produce therapeutic and medical diagnostic products and processes.
Biotech companies have one thing in common - the use of genetic engineering and
manipulation of organisms at a molecular level.
Goals of biotechnology
1. To understand more about the processes of inheritance and gene
expression.
2. To provide better understanding & treatment of various diseases,
particularly genetic disorders.
3. To generate economic benefits, including improved plants and animals for
agriculture and efficient production of valuable biological molecules.
Biotechnology is a multi-disciplinarian in nature, involving input from:
1. Engineering
2. Computer Science
3. Cell and Molecular Biology
4. Microbiology
5. Genetics
6. Physiology
7. Biochemistry
8. Immunology
9. Virology
10. Recombinant DNA Technology
Stages of Biotechnology
1. Ancient Biotechnology
--- early history as related to food and shelter, including domestication
Ancient biotechnology
Palaeolithic society--- Hunter-gatherers
Nomadic lifestyle due to migratory animals and edible plant distribution (wild
wheat and barley
Followed by domestication of plants and animals (artificial selection)
People settled, sedentary lifestyles evolved
Cultivation of wheat, barley and rye (seed collections)
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Sheep and goats --- milk, cheese, button and meat
2. Classical Biotechnology
--- fermentation promoted food production
--- medicine
Classical biotechnology
1. Industry today exploits early discoveries of the fermentation process for
production of huge numbers of products.
2. Chemical transformations to produce therapeutic products.
3. Microbial synthesis of other commercially valuable products.
3. Modern Biotechnology
--- manipulates genetic information in organism
--- genetic engineering
Branches of biotechnology
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** Orange Biotechnology ---The branch of biotechnology responsible for
disseminating information at both scientific and educational levels or
disseminates interesting information about biotechnology to attract future
scientists.
Other Types Biotechnology and Applications
1. Microbial Biotechnology
--- manipulation of microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria
1. Create better enzymes
2. More efficient decontamination processes for industrial waste product
removal
3. Used to clone and produce large amounts of important proteins used in
human medicine
2. Agricultural Biotechnology
1. Plants more environmentally friendly that yield more per acre (genetically
engineered)
2. Resistance to diseases and insects
3. Foods with higher protein or vitamin content
4. Drugs developed and grown as plant products
5. These better plants ultimately reduce production costs to help feed the
growing world population
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Agriculture:
1. Plant breeding to improve resistance to pests, diseases, drought and salt
conditions
2. Mass propagation of plant clones, bioinsecticide development, modification
of plants to improve nutritional and processing characteristics
3. Animal Biotechnology
1. Animals as a source of medically valuable proteins
a. Antibodies
b. Transgenic animals
2. Animals as important models in basic research
a. Gene "knockout" experiments
b. Design and testing of drugs and genetic therapies
3. Animal cloning
a. Source of transplant organs
Veterinary Practice:
1. Vaccine production
2. Fertility control
3. Livestock breeding
4. Forensic Biotechnology
1. DNA fingerprinting
a. Inclusion or exclusion of a person from suspicion
b. Paternity cases
c. Identification of human remains
d. Endangered species
e. Tracking and confirmation of the spread of disease
Forensic applications
a. Solve crimes
b. Determine parentage
5. Bioremediation or Environmental Biotechnology
The use of biotechnology to process and degrade a variety of natural and
manmade substances particularly those that contribute to environmental pollution.
How Can Bioremediation Be Used?
1. Oil spills
2. Wastewater treatment
3. Heavy metal removal
4. Chemical degradation
Environment:
1. Biological recovery of heavy metals from mine tailings and other industrial
sources.
2. Bioremediation of soil and water polluted with toxic chemicals.
3. Sewage and other organic waste treatment.
** Bioremediation
** Biodegradation
** Phytoremediation
6. Aquatic Biotechnology
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Aquaculture
1. Disease-resistant strains of oysters
2. Vaccines against viruses that infect salmon and other finfish
3. Transgenic salmon that overproduce growth hormone
4. Marine plankton and snails found to be rich sources of antitumor and
anticancer molecules
7. Medical Biotechnology
1. Involved with the whole spectrum of human medicine
a. Preventive medicine
b. Diagnosis of health and illness
c. Treatment of human diseases
2. New information from Human Genome Project
a. Gene therapy
3. Stem cell technologies
Medicine:
1. Development of novel therapeutic molecules for medical treatments
2. Diagnostics
3. Drug delivery systems
4. Tissue engineering of replacement organs
5. Gene therapy
Future of medicine
1. smart drugs for cancer and autoimmune diseases (arthritis, psoriasis,
diabetes)
2. gene-based diagnostics and therapies
3. pharmaco-genomics and personalised medicine
4. stem cells and regenerative medicine
8. Regulatory Biotechnology
1. Quality Assurance (QA)
All activities involved in regulating the final quality of a product.
2. Quality Control (QC)
Part of QA process that involves lab testing and monitoring of
processes and applications to ensure consistent product standards.
Biotechnology Philippines
The Philippines is the first ASEAN country to initiate a biotechnology
regulatory system with the issuance of Executive Order No. 430 in 1990, which
established the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP). The
countries biosafety regulatory system follows strict scientific standards and has
become a model for member-countries of the ASEAN seeking to become producers
of agricultural biotechnology crops.
Evolution of the Philippine Biosafety System
In 1987, scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB)
and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Quarantine Officer of the
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), and the Director for Crops of the Philippine Council
for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development
(PCARRD), recognizing the potential harm of the introduction of exotic species and
genetic engineering, formed a committee and formulated the biosafety protocols
and guidelines for genetic engineering and related research activities for UPLB and
IRRI researchers. The committee went on to draft a Philippine biosafety policy,
which was submitted to the Office of the President.
On October 15, 1990, recognizing the potential for modern biotechnology
both in improving the lives of the people and in creating hazards if not handled
properly, President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order 430 creating the
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National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP) that will formulate,
review and amend national policy on biosafety and formulate guidelines on the
conduct of activities on genetic engineering. The NCBP is comprised of
representative of the Departments of Agriculture (DA); Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR); Health (DOH); and Science and Technology (DOST), 4 scientists
in biology, environmental science, social science and physical science; and 2
respected members of the community.
On July 16, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued the Policy
Statement on Modern Biotechnology, reiterating the government policy on
promoting the safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology. On April 3, 2002,
Department of Agriculture Administrative Order No. 8, Series of 2002 was issued
implementing the guidelines for importation and release into the environment of
Plants and Plant Products Derived from the Use of Modern Biotechnology.
In March 17, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order
No.514 Establishing the National Biosafety Framework, prescribing guidelines for its
implementation, reorganizing the National Committee on Biosafety of the
Philippines, and for other purposes.
The NCBP now involves more government agencies such as the Department
of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Health (DOH) to
reflect the breadth and complexity of issues related to modern biotechnology.
Other Departments and agencies which shall participate in biosafety decision
making where appropriate are:
1. the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in promoting and protecting
Philippine interests on biosafety in bilateral, regional and multilateral forums;
2. the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in relation to biosafety
decisions which have impact on trade, intellectual property rights, investments and
consumer welfare and protection;
3. the National Commission on Indigenous People, in relation to biosafety
decisions which have a specific impact on indigenous peoples and communities; and
4. the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), in relation to
biosafety decisions which have impact on the autonomy of local government units.
** Bioinformatics or Computational biology
Application of Bioinformatics
--- to store, share, and obtain the maximum amount of information related to
gene structure, gene sequence and expression, and protein structure and function
GenBank
Public database of DNA sequences and contains National Institute of Health
collection of DNA sequences.
Each entry has an accession number that scientists use to refer back to the
cloned sequence.
Maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
NCBI is goldmine for bioinformatics resources that creates public access
databases and develops computing tools for analyzing and sharing genome data.
Computers in biotechnology
1. Computer simulations with virtual reality and other uses help in
biotechnology.
2. Computer modeling may be done before it is tested with animals.