Biotechnology Lecture Notes PDF

# Biotechnology ## What is Biotechnology? Biotechnology - Using living organisms, or the products of living organisms, for human benefit to make a product or solve a problem. In simpler words, Biotechnology is summation of activities involving technological tools and living organism in a way that...

# Biotechnology ## What is Biotechnology? Biotechnology - Using living organisms, or the products of living organisms, for human benefit to make a product or solve a problem. In simpler words, Biotechnology is summation of activities involving technological tools and living organism in a way that it will enhance the efficiency of the production. The ultimate goal of the field is to improve the product yield from living organism either by employing principles of bio-engineering/bio-process technology or genetically modifying the organism. ## Fermentation A picture of dough before and after fermentation. The picture shows the dough rising due to air pockets created by the fermentation process. It also shows a loaf of bread sliced open to show the air pockets, which are labelled as "Pores". ## World Population Growth A graph showing the population growth of the world. The graph shows the population, in billions, growing from roughly 1750 to 2100. The population is projected to reach 9.2 billion in 2050. ## Need of Biotechnology - Purity of the living stock - Secretion of toxic metabolic by-products - Inability to withstand harsh biochemical processes/treatments. - Higher production, Lower cost - Susceptible to disease and other environmental conditions (Abiotic or Biotic Stress Resistant Crop Plants). ## Applications A tree-like diagram of the applications of biotechnology: - **Agriculture:** A picture of a bunch of yellow flowers - **Pisciculture:** A picture of a couple of goldfish - **Drug Delivery:** A picture of a syringe - **Poultry:** A picture of a fluffy, white chicken - **Vaccine:** A picture of a vial containing a clear liquid - **Genetically Modified Organisms:** A microscopic image of cells - **Medicine:** A picture of capsule pills - **Transgenic Animal:** A picture of a black goat ## Genetically Modified Organisms A flowchart describing the process of genetically modifying an organism. The flowchart includes boxes for the following steps: - **Genome:** A circle with a DNA strand in it - **Polymerase:** - **Gene:** A rectangle with a DNA strand inside - **Cut Gene:** Similar to the gene box, but cut in half with an arrow indicating the division - **Plasmid:** A circle with a DNA strand inside - **Restriction digestion:** An arrow pointing to the plasmid box - **Cut Plasmid:** Similar to the plasmid box but cut in half with an arrow indicating the division - **Ligated Plasmid:** A circle with two DNA strands inside - **Transformation:** An arrow from the ligated plasmid to the transformed bacteria box - **Transformed Bacteria:** A circle with the ligated DNA inside - **Screening:** A circle with two boxes, one containing brown balls and the other containing red balls - **Colonies:** A yellow container with brown dots evenly distributed - **Clone:** A yellow container with red dots evenly distributed ## Host Cells and Transforming Agent A flowchart in the shape of a tree describing the relationship between the host cell and the transforming agent. The flowchart shows the following: - **Host Cells:** A yellow rectangle - **Transforming Agent:** A yellow rectangle - **Prokaryote:** A yellow rectangle - **Yeast:** A yellow rectangle - **Animals:** A yellow rectangle - **Plant:** A yellow rectangle - **Plasmids:** A yellow rectangle ## Table 1: Difference Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells | Feature | Prokaryote | Eukaryote | |---|---|---| | Size | Small, in µm range | Variable size, upto 40µm in diameter. | | Genetic material | Circular DNA present in cytosol as free material | DNA in the form of linear chromosome present in well defined double membrane nucleus, no direct connection with cytosol | | Replication | Single origin of replication | Multiple origin of replication. | | Genes | No Intron | Presence of Intron | | Organelles | No membrane bound organelles | Membrane bound orgelles with well defined function. | | Cell walls | Very complex cell wall | Except Fungi and plant, eukaryotic cells are devoid of a thick cell wall. | | Ribosome | 70S | 80S | | Trancription and translation | Occurs together | Transcription in nucleus and translation in cytosol | ## Diagram of a Prokaryotic Cell A diagram of a prokaryotic cell highlighting the following parts: - A - Plasmid - Mesosome - Cytoplasma - Pilli - Flagella - Nucleoid (DNA) - Ribosomes - Capsule - Cell Wall - Plasma Membrane - Food Granule ## Diagram of Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Cell Walls A picture comparing gram-negative and gram-positive cell walls: - **B** #### Gram-Negative Cell Wall - Lipopolysaccharide - Porins - Protein - Outer membrane - Lipoprotein - Periplasmic space - Peptidoglycan - Inner membrane - Phospholipids - Cytoplasm #### Gram-Positive Cell Wall - Lipoteichoic acid - Peptidoglycan - Phospholipid - Cytoplasmic Membrane - Protein - Cytoplasm NAG (N-acetyl-glucosamine) and NAM (N-acetyl-muramic glucosamine) linked by a β-(1,4) linkage ## What is Gram Staining? Gram staining is developed by Danish scientist Hans Christian Gram. This technique differentiates bacterial strains based on their cell wall composition, especially thickness of peptidoglycan layer. A detailed staining procedure is given in the following paper (Use of the gram stain in microbiology. Beveridge, TJ (2001) Biotech Histochem 76 (3): 111-8. Pubmed ID: 11475313). During the staining procedure bacterial sample is stained with two dyes, crystal violet and safarin. During a washing step with non-polar solvents such as alcohol or acetone (decolorization), gram -ve bacteria leave the blue stain due to a thin peptidoglycan layer in cell wall whereas gram +ve bacteria retains both stains and appears as Pink. A microscopic picture showing a gram-positive and a gram-negative staining. A Gram stain of mixed Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureusATCC 25923, gram-positive cocci, in purple) and Escherichia coli (E. coliATCC 11775, gram-negative bacilli, in red), the most common Gram stain reference bacteria. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_stain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_stain)