Future of Biotechnology

Dr.Jitender Kumar

Biotechnology department

Biotechnology

• Biotechnology is commercial

exploitation of biological agents.

• Study of biotechnology include

polymerase chain reaction, cloning and

gene transfer

Agricultural biotechnology

• Agricultural biotechnology is a discipline, concerned with genetic engineering, that are used to create, improve, or modify plants, animals, and microorganisms. Using conventional techniques, such as selective breeding, scientists have been working to improve plants and animals for human benefit for hundreds of years.

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Recent advances

• Recent advances paves the way to new techniques in biotechnology
• Modern techniques now enable scientists to move genes in ways they could not before - and with greater ease and precision.

Applications

• Biotechnology can help farmers increase crop yields and feed even more people.
• Helping the environment by reducing pesticide use.
• Biotechnology can help farmers reduce their reliance on insecticides and herbicides.

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Future applications

• To fight against the human diseases
• Promoting human health by creating ways to boost the nutritional value of foods using biotechnology.
• Combating animal diseases - Biotechnology helped produce a vaccine that protects animals from diseases.

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Plant biotechnology

• Pest control biotech, including resistance to pests (bt corn), and resistance to pesticides (bt cotton).
• Yield-increasing varieties that are not pest-control related. For example, drought-tolerant varieties

Crop biotechnology

• Quality enhancing varieties that include longer shelf life, better taste
• Nutritionally-improved food (cholesterol free animal products) , chemicals and materials (silk, organic plastic, oils).

Commercialization of biotech

• While the first application of medical biotech were in the 1980s, the commercialization of biotech occurred in the late 1990s. There are several reasons

∙ In plant biotech, one deals with crop resistance etc.

∙ There is a much larger willingness to pay for drugs than for food.

Medicinal crops

∙ There is more tolerance for risk when it come to production of medical than food. Furthermore, plant biotech is produced in the field, and requires extra care.

• Much more research programme has been designed to develop medicinal crops.

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Transgenic plants

• Early application of agri biotech includes Bt and Roundup ready inserted varieties in major field crops.
• The Bt varieties mostly reduce pesticide use but don’t affect yield.
• Drought resistance varieties have been developed

Genetically modifications

• There have been some drift of genetic material towards development of wild corn.
• There are some indicators of resistance-buildup in different crops.

Future of agriculture

• Agbiotech presents opportunities for environmental quality improvement like degradation of waste.
• With good management, Biotechnology has an important role in the future of agriculture.
• Much of the value of agri biotech is in the plant and animal based products.

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Agriculture biotechnology

• There has been significant resistance for the introduction of agri biotech, especially in common cultivated crops.
• Agri biotech entails perceived risks, but benefit to consumers of the early applications are non-apparent.

Plant biotechnology

• There is lack of confidence in government assurance, and in technology in different countries, especially after mad cow disease.
• Plant biotechnology may be opposed indirectly by individuals that benefit from substitute products. e.g. pesticide manufacturers.

Biotechnology

• Biotechnology aims to solve problems of the food production will not make a difference in the other fields.
• Biotechnology is controlled by corporations will not be accessible on feasible terms to poor peasants.
• Damage to environment and human health.

Reduction in chemical usage�

Bt cotton in:

• United States: yield effect 0 – 15%
• China: yield effect 10%
• South Africa: yield effect 20%-40%
• India: yield effect 60 – 80 %

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In every country BT crops have reduction in chemical usage.

Conclusion

• Plant biotechnology helps in increasing product yields of almost all crops on which it has been applied.
• Countries should develop regional alliances for regulation and establish mechanisms for easy transfer of regulatory information.

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References

• General Microbiology by Stanier
• Microbiology by R.P.Singh

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Thanks