Agricultural Biotechnology

Biotechnology• Biotechnology is more than just a single

technology

• It is a field of biology that involves the use of living things in engineering, technology, medicine, etc

• It includes working with the living cells and their molecules and has a wide range of uses to improve our lives

VISION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Scientists in biotechnology envision these scenarios and many more!

Imagine a world…

…free from serious disease

…where food is abundant

…free of pollution

History of Biotechnology

The ideas of biotechnology have been around since nearly 2000 B.C. Examples:

wine and bread making

B.C. Events•Domestication (taming) of animals for use as livestock

• Sheep, goats, cattle, pigs

•Selective breeding (controlled reproduction with a focus on a certain trait) in farming & agriculture

• Form of artificial selection

Fermentation•Fermentation is the process of a cell converting sugar into energy in an environment without oxygen - to make bread, cheese, yogurt, beer, wine, etc… (process used in B.C. era).

•The fermentation properties of yeast were not discovered until 1818.

Bacteria• In 1885, the bacterium Escherichia coli was discovered by Theodor Escherich

• It is one of the main species that lives in the mammalian gut (coli is Latin derivative of colon)

• It later became a major research, development, and production tool for biotechnology

Biotechnology• The word “biotechnology” was first used in print by a Karl Ereky, a Hungarian agricultural engineer, in 1919.

• The term originally meant “all the lines of work by which products are produced from raw materials with the aid of living organisms.”

Antibiotics

•In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered that Penicillium mold inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus.

•This was the first antibiotic

•Antibiotics are substances produced by microorganisms that inhibit the growth of other microorganisms.

•Scientists used batch (large-scale) processes to grow bacteria and other cells in large quantities to harvest these useful products.

Genetic Engineering• Stanley Cohen (left) and Herbert Boyer (right) perform the first successful recombinant DNA experiment in 1973.

• This technique became known as genetic engineering.

• In 1980, a patent was awarded to Cohen & Boyer for the gene cloning technique (used to identify and reproduce genes of interest).

http://www.dnalc.org/view/15915-The-first-recombinant-DNA.html

Genetic Engineering cont’d

Recombinant DNA technology (cutting and recombining DNA molecules) produces many proteins of medical importance.

• Human growth hormone (1977)

• First monoclonal antibodies produced (1979)

• Breast cancer gene discovered (1994)

• Bacteria used to degrade pollutants (1989)

• Disease-resistant crops (1997)

• More nutritious foods (2000)

MOLECULAR AGRICULTURAL

Human Genome Project1990 - 2003

•An international effort to identify the genome (all of the genes) contained in the DNA of human cells and to map their locations to each of the 24 different chromosomes (1-22, X, Y)

•Project coordinated by US Department of Energy (DOE) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)

•Potential exists for new molecular approaches for treating and curing human genetic diseases & new diagnostics (to detect disease)

Genome ProjectsIn 1995, the first genome sequence of an organism, Haemophilus influenzae, was determined

Researchers completed a rough draft of the human genome in 2000, but it wasn’t completed until 2003.

Divisions of Biotechnology Medical Biotechnology

Diagnostics Therapeutics

Vaccines Agricultural Biotechnology

Plant agriculture Animal agriculture Food processing

Environmental Biotechnology Cleaning through bioremediation

Preventing environmental problems Monitoring the environment

Agriculture Biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology includes a range of tools that scientists employ to understand and manipulate the genetic make-up of organisms for use in the production or processing of agricultural products.

Agricultural ViewAll of the applied science based operations in producing food, fiber, shelter, and related products

Agricultural ViewMilk productionNew horticultural and ornamental plants

Wildlife, aquaculture, natural resources and environmental management

Why is agricultural biotechnology important?

In a world where 800 million people, living mostly in rural areas, go hungry every day

food demand is set to double in the next thirty years and arable land is limited

advances in agriculture are critical if we are to reduce hunger and promote growth and development in a socially acceptable and environmentally sustainable way.

Source: www.wfp.org

How agriculture biotechnology is used?

How is agriculture biotechnology is used?

Benefits

?

Crop Performance

Environmental Resistant Crops

Nutrition Supplement

Pest resistant CropsImproved Size

Reduced Dependence on

Pesticides

Higher Crop yields

Issues & Concerns• Health Effects

• Ecological Risks

• Lack of Consumer Acceptance

• Food Safety Concerns

How long Agriculture Biotechnology been used?

Facts about GE Crops

Developing countries?

Bio-Majors Control Everything

CompaniesWorld

Pesticide (mil$, rank)

World Seed (mil$, rank)

US Corn Seed

(%, rank)

US Plant paten

t

Bt-gene related patent

OECD regist. GMOs

Corn / Soy GMOs in field test

1999 1999 1997 -1999 -1996.6 -2000.8 -2001.5

Syngenta 5,888 ① 947 ③ 9.0 ③ 205 46 4 185Monsanto 3,885 ② 1,700 ② 14.0 ② 173 43 27 1,629Aventis # 3,701 ③ 288 ⑫ 7.0 ④ 55 22 11 346Dow 2,271 ④ 350 ⑨ 4.0 ⑤ 45 22 - 113Bayer # 2,252 ⑤ - - - - n.d. - - -BASF 2,228 ⑥ n.d. - - - n.d. 4 - -DuPont 2,009 ⑦ 1,850 ① 42.0 ① 184 5 3 848Top 7 80% 24% 76% 30

%51% 88% 85%

# Bayer announced the agreement to acquire Aventis CropScience recently.

Biotechnology in Pakistan•Agriculture constitutes the largest sector of our economy

•It contributes about 24 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

•It accounts for half of employed labor force

•It is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings

Source: http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/fbs/statistics/agriculture_statistics/agriculture_statistics.html

Agriculture Subsector Share

Subsectors Shares

Crops 47.9

Livestock 49.6

Fisheries 1.6

Forestry 0.9

Source: Malik, Dr. Kauser. “Agricultural in Biotechnology potential for economic Pakistan: potential for economic development”

Biotechnology in Pakistan• Status

– Use of biotechnology in agriculture sector started in 1985– Currently there are 29 biotech centers

• Institutes and Universities– Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center (PABIC)– 29 universities and government institutes are working in the

field of biotechnology– Member of Convention of Biological Diversity, and World

Trade Organization– Forman Christian College University, Lahore

• Research Centers– National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic

Engineering– Center of Excellence on Molecular BiologySource: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7098/is_5_90/ai_n28490423/

However, few centers have appropriate physical facilities and trained manpower to develop genetically modified (GM) crops.

Most of the activities have been on rice and cotton, which are among the top 5 crops of Pakistan.

Biotic (virus/bacterial/insect) and abiotic (salt) resistant and quality (male sterility) genes have already been incorporated in some crop plants.

Despite acquiring capacity to produce transgenic plants, no GM crops, either produced locally or imported, have been released in the country.

Pakistan is signatory to the World Trade Organization, Convention on Biological Diversity, and Cartagena protocols.

Several legislations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights have been promulgated in the country. National Biosafety Guidelines have been promulgated in April 2005.

The Plant Breeders Rights Act, Amendment in Seed Act-1976, and Geographical Indication for Goods are still passing through discussion, evaluation, and analysis phases. Meanwhile, an illegal GM crop (cotton) has already sneaked into farmer's field.

Concerted and coordinated efforts are needed among various ministries for implementation of regulation and capacity building for import/export and local handling of GM crops.

Pakistan could easily benefit from the experience of Asian countries, especially China and India, where conditions are similar and the agriculture sector is almost like that of Pakistan. Thus, the exchange of information and experiences is important among these nations.

GM Crops DevelopmentCrop FeatureCotton -Diamondback moth resistance with Bt gene

- Virus (CLCuV) resistance with RNAinterference (RNAi)

Rice -Salt tolerance with Yeast and Arabidopsis Na+/H+ antiporter genes

- Bacterial blight resistance with Xa21 gene

Potato Virus resistance

Sugarcane -Insect resistance with Cry gene

- chloroplast transformationTomato -Male sterility through RNAi

- Virus (TLCV) resistance through RNAi

Source: Malik, Dr. Kauser. “Agricultural in Biotechnology potential for economic Pakistan: potential for economic development”