Animal Biotechnology

Study Notes

Couples suffering from infertility can have test-tube babies through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.
Hormone-induced superovulation and/or embryo splitting is used for rapid multiplication of farm animals with superior genotypes.
Transgenic animals are produced for increased milk production, growth rate, and resistance to diseases.

Efficient microorganisms are developed for sewage treatment, deodorization of human excreta, and degradation of pollutants in soil, air, or groundwater.
A strain of Pseudomonas putida is used for detoxification of wastes and industrial effluents.
Biocontrol of plant diseases and insect pests is achieved using viruses, bacteria, amoebae, and fungi, avoiding the use of pesticides.

Embryo culture is used to rescue otherwise inviable hybrids and recover haploid plants from interspecific hybrids.
Rapid clonal multiplication is achieved through meristem culture, especially for fruit and forest trees like teak.
Recovery of virus- and pathogen-free stocks of clonal crops is possible through meristem culture and thermotherapy.
Germplasm conservation is achieved through storage in liquid nitrogen (cryopreservation) or slow growth.

Molecular markers like RFLPs and RAPDs are used for linkage mapping and mapping of quantitative trait loci.
Gene transfers (genetic engineering) are used for insect resistance, protection against viruses, herbicide resistance, and storage protein improvement.
Isolation of stable somaclonal variants with improved yield, yield traits, disease resistance, and resistance to cold, herbicides, metal toxicity, and salt.

Principles of inheritance were identified by Gregor Mendel in 1865, laying the foundation for classical breeding methods.
Commercial hybrid crops were developed in the 1930s.
Key discoveries include the structure of DNA in 1953, transposons, and the industrial exploitation of fermentation processes.

The Second World War impeded scientific discoveries, but crucial discoveries were made after the war, paving the way for modern biotechnology.
Gene transfer through recombinant DNA techniques became possible in the 1970s.
Insulin was the first commercial product from gene transfer in the 1980s.
Genetic fingerprinting, genetically engineered plant varieties, and genetically engineered vaccines and hormones were developed in the 1990s.
Bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics emerged in the 2000s.