Advances in Biotechnology

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Biotechnology is the technical applications of biological systems for the production of natural substances (biogas, antibiotics, enzymes or organic acids) etc and the use of living organisms deliberately to carry out defined chemical processes and exploitation of biological processes for the use of man and animals. Among agricultural and allied fields, animal production and health have probably benefited the most from biotechnology. In animal production, biotechnology techniques applied include gene cloning, embryo transfer, artificial insemination, milk modification etc. In animal health, biotechnology techniques are used for the fast and accurate diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Gene therapy, vaccine production, production of recombinant pharmaceuticals etc are examples. The aim of this book review is to highlight the importance of biotechnology in the improvements of animal production and health.

Genetic mapping refers to the determination of distance and order of genes/QTL on the chromosome. The conventional linkage analysis has been used to this purpose leading to publication of first genetic map of 6 sexlinked genes on a fruit fly chromosome. In plants, genetic linkage maps have been developed for major gene controlling the qualitative traits in several crops. However, the possibility of locating the QTL controlling the quantitative traits has also been investigated earlier using morphological traits as genetic markers. However, the advent of molecular markers has sped up the development of dense molecular maps and QTL analysis in crop plants. This led to the identification of QTL for desirable traits of agronomic importance. In this chapter, we discussed the basic principles of molecular genetic mapping and QTL analysis in plants.

Rapid advances in Genomic technologies have widened the opportunities for selecting desirable plants based on DNA markers. The conventional method of breeding is slow in improving the genetic potentials of crops particularly when the traits of interest are quantitative in nature. Molecular genetic tools have been developed to aid in cultivar development. DNA based marker assisted selection (MAS) is emerging as a potential tool to enhance the efficiency of selection. Molecular markers have been widely used for cultivar identification, parentage and genetic diversity analysis, genome mapping and tagging of genes of agricultural importance. Genetic linkage maps and quantitative trait analysis enable researchers to identify molecular markers associated with target traits. Marker-assisted breeding is being implemented in different grass species. Tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire] is an important cool-season perennial grass which is widely used as forage and turf and also in conservation plantings. It is an outcrossing polyploid and most of the traits of interests are quantitative in nature. A comprehensive molecular marker system with microsatellite and sequence tagged site markers has been developed for tall fescue. Genetic linkage maps were constructed and used for the quantitative trait analysis of important forage quality and morphological traits. Molecular markers associated with forage digestibility and stem rust resistance were identified and used in a practical breeding program. Molecular breeding is expected to greatly expedite the future tall fescue cultivar development process.

Forward genetics seeks to identify and clone genes that are associated with mutant phenotypes. Such cloning can be accomplished by various strategies whose development has become more sophisticated and efficient with the concurrent developments in sequencing technologies. There is, at the same time, heavy reliance on protein information to identify genes due to the advent of high throughput nucleic acid sequencing technologies and advanced proteomics analysis techniques. These protein sequence-based cloning techniques are sometimes inadequate in biotechnology especially in the absence of comprehensive nucleic acid sequence databases for the target organism. Discovery of specific genes is a key factor in biotechnology because identification of drug targets is a commonplace activity and often a defining step in the discovery process. Forward genetics or other methods of isolation of novel genes that do not rely on previous protein identification (or reverse genetics) is useful and has proved to be successful in finding novel genes and, in some cases, immediately assign them to a pathological condition because of the obvious phenotype of the mutation. This paper gives an overview of currently used techniques in the area of forward genetics and molecular biology-based gene discovery. Very often these techniques are modified and are improved versions of methods whose theoretical bases were laid in the 1970’s when molecular biology took giant leaps. Although mutagenesis predates current technologies, there is a highly beneficial synergy between retroviral mutagenesis strategy and high throughput sequencing.

Of late, genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technology has been emerged as a very potential filed in molecular biotechnology. DNA isolation and characterization are the requisites of many fundamental molecular researches and thus have become an integrated part in the study of both basic and applied molecular biology. In the basic fields, researches are carried out to know the functions of different genes, their expression patterns etc. which in turn, is making pace for the advanced and applied researches. In the applied fields, molecular techniques have been adopted to produce thousands of commercial products including different agricultural and pharmaceutical products that are being served to fulfill regular consumer requirements. Therefore, recombinant DNA technology is playing very important role in both basic and applied researches. In this chapter, basic and fundamental techniques as well as recent advanced techniques used in molecular biotechnology have been described along with some diagrammatic illustrations. The process for isolation and characterization of a gene has been described sequentially and step-wise to make it easily understandable. In addition, the entire process for cloning a gene in different circumstances has been presented in schematic-form in the last part of the chapter for a comprehensive review.

Plants have a series of fine mechanisms for responding to environmental stresses. These mechanisms include perception of stress, molecular and physiological response to stress which may results into the adaptation to that stress. In all the stresses, salinity stress is a major concern in today’s agriculture. Recent experimentation with transgenic plants has led to increased understanding of salinity tolerance, with emphasis on the areas of ion homeostasis, osmotic regulation and antioxidant protection. A case study of the major challenges and opportunities to improve stress tolerance in plants under salinity is presented. As different abiotic stresses are inter-related (e.g. salinity and osmotic stress), our ability to improve crop performance may well be determined by combining different, apparently unrelated approaches for introducing several stress tolerance mechanisms into specific crop plants.

The colors of food have always been a value of quality as it plays an important role in enjoyment of foodstuffs. Most food products during processing, looses its natural color and the manufacturers are required to provide a color to the foodstuff so as to make it more appealing. With the increasing concern about food safety and quality, natural pigments like anthocyanins are getting more attention. The need to avoid the use of synthetic colorants and move towards the use of natural colorants has increased research in this field during the past decade. In fact, the molecular genetic control of anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway is now one of the best understood of all secondary metabolic pathways in plants. Engineering the biosynthetic pathway for augmented production of anthocyanins in controlled in vitro conditions is seen as one of the exciting spin-offs in the technology. For this purpose, the structural genes responsible for catalyzing various steps of the pathway as well as the regulatory genes that control the expression of the structural genes have been engineered to provide different types and combinations of anthocyanins with novel colors. The elicitation of anthocyanin pigments in plant cell culture through illumination, precursor feeding, elicitor optimization and Agrobacterium mediated transformation are seen as prominent feasible techniques for augmented production of anthocyanins. An effort to combine plant cell culture and functional genomics is a substantial initiative in this direction that might lead to its application as a potential natural food colorant. This chapter aims at providing comprehensive information on the topic of its importance to students and researchers of biotechnology and biochemistry. This chapter will highlight the studies that have been carried out both at cell culture and molecular level to enhance anthocyanin production.

Wheat is a human food crop of high economic value and future improvements in wheat breeding require in depth knowledge of gene functions. The hexaploid genome, large genome size and recalcitrance to transformation of the cultivated wheat limit the use of functional approaches such as mutagenesis, T-DNA knockout libraries, T-DNA activation tagging or transposon gene-tagging for gene identification. Wheat functional genomics has benefitted from approaches based on post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and RNAi (RNA interference) has been deployed as an effective reverse genetics tool (involving expression knock down) to elucidate the function of wheat genes. Despite its demonstrated usefulness, RNAi in wheat cannot yet be applied to large scale projects, as it requires the generation of transgenic lines which is a time consuming and labour intensive procedure in wheat. As an alternative, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has emerged as an attractive option for rapid generation of gene knock-down phenotypes to assess function of target genes. VIGS is based on homology dependent gene silencing achieved by delivery of viral RNA or DNA containing a gene fragment with homology to an endogenous gene into plants. VIGS is of great importance in wheat as it can potentially speed up the characterization of candidate genes. In this chapter, we detail virus induced gene silencing in wheat, discussing different case studies where VIGS use has been demonstrated. The benefits and drawbacks of VIGS strategy as well as its future potential to characterize plant genes controlling different agronomically important traits are also discussed.

The field of nanotechnology has generated great enthusiasm in recent years. The development of reliable, eco-friendly process for the synthesis of nano scale materials is an important aspect of nanotechnology. In this context a wide range of biological organisms such as bacteria, actinomycetes, algae, fungus etc. were listed for the development of clean, nontoxic and environmentally acceptable “green chemistry” procedure. This review covers a brief overview of the worldwide research efforts on the use of fungus in the biosynthesis of inorganic nanoparticles.

Biotechnology is a series of enabling technologies where plants, animals, microbes or their parts are used to produce new products or to modify products for the welfare of human being directly or indirectly. DNA delivery/transfer is the pre-requisite for almost all basic and applied researches in the field of molecular biotechnology. To perform gene delivery/transfer two types of vectors are available, (i) viral vectors (ii) non-viral vectors. Among the vectors, non-viral vectors are proved less toxic and safe compare to viral vectors through clinical trial. No single vector is proved suitable for every gene transfection experiment. Cationic polymers and lipids both are experimentally established as non viral vector with higher transfection efficiency. Identifying the barriers for transfection and the possible solution, the stability improvement research is needed for better clinical performance of cationic vectors. In future, it is also possible to find out new conjugates as cationic polymers and lipid bearing novel properties, suitable to bind with DNA and penetrate cell. Considering all these properties, this chapter reviews the most recent studies highlighting cationic polymers and lipids used in non-viral gene delivery systems.

Energy is essential and vital for development and presently, the growth of global economy completely depends on energy. The use of fossil fuel as a source of energy is now widely accepted as unsustainable due to depleting resources and accumulation of greenhouse gases in the environment. Renewable and carbon neutral biofuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. All over the world, governments have initiated the use of alternative sources of energy for ensuring energy security, generating employment, and mitigating CO2 emissions. Biofuels have emerged as an ideal choice to meet these requirements. Biofuel production using microbes is a totally renewable and environmental friendly way of alternative fuel production. Presently, bioethanol is produced at the industrial scale with the help of microbes and used as a transport fuel in many countries. Biomethane is also produced on large scale but it is not yet utilized for transportation. Hydrogen, biobutanol and biodiesel are in high priority agenda of several companies and may be used in near future as a supplement of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. This paper reviews microbially synthesized biofuels which have potential to replace the present fossil fuels, either alone or by blending. The current article attempts to summarize the present scenario of global biofuel profile.

During the first decade of commercialization of genetically engineered crops, they have received mixed response from different parts of the global community ranging from well accepted to total non-acceptance. The major concerns raised against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are regarding their presumed ill-effects on health, environment and bio diversity. Despite the opposition, data reveals that GMOs have been well accepted in many parts of the world. First generation GMOs have mainly benefited the producers by reducing the input and management costs, whereas second generation GM crops are expected to provide benefits to consumers e.g. with enhanced food quality parameters. Third generation of genetically engineered crops is being developed specifically for industrial purposes. Gene technology carries immense potential for producers, consumers, industry and economy, however the potential risks involved in realizing these benefits, need to be addressed appropriately. This chapter reviews the level of acceptance of GMOs in developed and developing world giving due consideration to the concerns against and arguments in favour of biotechnology. Potential benefits of GMOs for eco-efficient crop production and the future opportunities are discussed.

Taiwan is determined to lead Asia in genomic research, human clinical trials, and subtropical floriculture supported by a vibrant and biotech-focused capital economy. Taiwan’s economy is robust and ranks as the 17th largest economy in the world. Agriculture contributes only 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. Only 1% of Taiwan’s population lives below the poverty line. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Exports to China, mainly parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries drove Taiwan’s economic recovery in 2002. Although the SARS epidemic, typhoons, corporate scandals, and a drop in consumer spending caused GDP growth to contract to 3.2% in 2003, an increasingly strong export performance kept Taiwan’s economy on track, and the government expects the economy to grow over 4.1% during 2008-2009. To support the economic growth the government aims to invest USD 4.5 billion by 2010 as part of the Promotion Plan for the biotech industry. This chapter describes details on Taiwan’s future biotechnology prospects.

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