Definitions [4]
Define.
Biotechnology
The technique of bringing about improvements in living organisms by genetic modifications and hybridization, for the welfare of human beings is known as ‘Biotechnology’.
Definition: Transgenic Animal
A transgenic animal is an animal whose genome has been artificially modified to contain one or more genes from another species.
Define the term:
Bioethics
Bioethics is the branch of ethics that deals with moral principles and issues arising from advances in biology, medicine, and life sciences.
Definition: Bioethics
Bioethics are a set of standards that may be used to regulate our activities in relation to the biological world.
Key Points
Key Points: Biotechnology
- Biotechnology, a term coined by Karl Ereky in 1919, is the use of biological systems and genetic modifications to develop products and services for human welfare.
- Traditional biotechnology relies on small-scale, natural processes like fermentation (e.g., producing curd and wine), whereas modern biotechnology operates on a large scale.
- Modern biotechnology is fundamentally driven by two core techniques: genetic engineering (the targeted alteration of DNA and RNA) and bioprocess engineering.
- The field experienced a major breakthrough with the development of recombinant DNA technology by Cohen and Boyer in 1973.
- By integrating disciplines such as molecular biology and biochemistry, biotechnology enables crucial applications in both medicine (antibiotics, vaccines, insulin) and agriculture (high-yield, disease-resistant crops).
Key Points: Biotechnological Application in Agriculture
- Totipotency is the basis of tissue culture.
- Micropropagation produces many plants rapidly.
- Somaclones are plants obtained through tissue culture.
- Meristem culture helps produce virus-free plants.
- Somatic hybridisation involves the fusion of protoplasts.
- Golden rice is an example of a nutritionally improved GM crop.
- Bt cotton protects against bollworms.
- Bt protoxin becomes active in the alkaline gut of insects.
- RNAi silences specific mRNA and helps control pests like Meloidogyne incognita.
Key Points: Applications of Biotechnology in Health and Medicine
- Recombinant DNA technology allows for the mass production of safe therapeutic proteins, eliminating the allergic reactions associated with earlier animal-derived medicines.
- Genetically engineered human insulin is produced by separately synthesising the A and B chains in E. coli and linking them with disulphide bonds.
- Biotechnology facilitates the development of recombinant subunit vaccines, which use specific pathogen antigens to safely stimulate the immune system.
- Transgenic plants can be engineered to produce cost-effective edible vaccines that deliver injection-free mucosal and systemic immunity upon consumption.
- Gene therapy treats genetic disorders like ADA deficiency (SCID) by using retroviral vectors to insert a functional gene into a patient's extracted lymphocytes.
- Patients receiving gene therapy for ADA deficiency require periodic infusions of genetically corrected lymphocytes because these cells have a limited lifespan.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive molecular diagnostic tool that amplifies trace amounts of DNA or RNA to detect diseases before clinical symptoms arise.
- Molecular diagnostics also use ELISA for mass screening via antigen-antibody reactions and DNA probes to detect specific genetic mutations through hybridisation.
Key Points: Transgenic Animal
- Transgenic animals have artificially modified genomes containing specific foreign genes from other species.
- They are produced by isolating a desired gene, inserting it into a host embryo, and growing it into a complete animal expressing the new trait.
- They serve as essential living models for studying normal physiology, understanding complex diseases, and testing the safety of vaccines and chemicals.
- They function as biological factories for therapeutic products, such as "Rosie," the first transgenic cow that produced human protein-enriched milk.
- Mice are the most widely used models in disease research, while other animals such as sheep, pigs, and fish are utilised for medical and agricultural advancements.
Key Points: Bioethics
- Bioethics sets moral standards to safely regulate biotechnology and prevent the misuse of biological resources.
- Major ethical concerns focus on preventing animal suffering in research and avoiding the ecological risks of cross-species gene transfer.
- Biosafety protocols are essential to protect human health and the environment from the unpredictable effects of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
- The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) strictly evaluates and regulates the safe release of genetically engineered products into the environment.
- Biopiracy is the unethical, unauthorised commercial exploitation of regional biological resources and traditional knowledge without fair compensation.
Important Questions [31]
- Eli Lilly's contribution for diabetic patients through r-DNA technology has been overwhelmingly accepted. Explain how?
- Why Do Children Cured by Enzyme-replacement Therapy Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency Need Periodic Treatment?
- How did an American Company, Eli Lilly use the knowledge of r-DNA technology to produce human insulin?
- Write the Function of Adenosine Deaminase Enzyme.
- Expand the Given and Mention One Application of Each: PCR
- A cell-free method of amplifying DNA first developed in the mid 1980's revolutionised the field of biotechnology, Name the method and explain the basic steps of the technique involved.
- How does a gene therapy involving direct modification of the cells, in order to achieve a therapeutic goal is used in the treatment of ADA deficiency? Explain.
- A host cell must be made competent, before it is able to receive an rDNA. Justify.
- Explain how recombinant human insulin was prepared in 1983 by Eli Lily an American company.
- Explain Enzyme – Replacement Therapy to Treat Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency. Mention Two Disadvantages of this Procedure.
- Suggest Any Two Possible Treatments that Can Be Given to a Patient Exhibiting Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency.
- Recombination DNA−technology is of great importance in the field of medicine. With the help of a flow chart, show how this technology has been used in preparing genetically engineered human insulins.
- State the role of C-peptide in human insulin.
- State the Cause of Ada Deficiency in Humans.Mention a Possible Cure for a Ada Deficiency Patient.
- Expand the Given and Mention One Application of Each: Elisa
- What is Gene Therapy? Name the First Clinical Case in Which It Was Used.
- Why Does Bt Toxin Not Kill the Bacterium that Produces It, but Kill the Insect that Ingests It?
- Give a Schematic Representation of the Transformation of a Pro-insulin into Insulin.
- Write Any Two Biochemical/Molecular Diagonostic Procedures for Early Detection of Viral Infection. Explain the Principle of Any One of Them.
- Describe the Steps that Are Followed During Secondary Treatment of Sewage.
- Answer the Following Question. Describe the Roles of Heat, Primers, and the Bacterium Thermus Aquaticus in the Process of Pcr.
- Answer the Following Question. Explain the Various Steps Involved in the Production of Artificial Insulin.
- Describe the role of high temperature.
- Describe the role of primers.
- Describe the role of bacterium Thermus aquaticus in carrying the process of polymerase chain reaction.
- C-peptide of human insulin is ______.
- Why a transgenic animals so called?
- Explain the role of transgenic animals in (i) Vaccine safety and (ii) Biological products with the help of an example each.
- How have transgenic animals proved to be beneficial in production of biological products?
- How have transgenic animals proved to be beneficial in chemical safety testing?
- "Artificial insemination helps overcome several problems of normal mating in cattle". Do you agree? Support your answer with any three reasons.
