Biotechnology: Essence Of The Concept, Advantages And Disadvantages

When we hear the word “Biotechnology, the first thing to strike our mind is Dolly, the cloned sheep or gene therapy, but biotechnology is a far broader aspect of science these days. In simple words, can be described as manufacturing products or processes useful to humans with the help of living organisms or components of a living system(‘Biotechnology | Biology | Science |Khan Academy’, 2019). Biotechnology is defined as the study and application of biological systems to develop new technology for encountering various problems like human diseases, pollution, Agriculture, Industries, waste management etc. The term Biotechnology was coined by Karl Ereky in 1919 derived from a combination of Biological Sciences with Technology. With the help of Biotechnology, a number of issues like reducing hunger, controlling pollution, inventing vaccine and medicines, creating new biofuels etc can be solved (Market research,2019).

Biotechnology is a cross-culture department worldwide. It is not limited to one country, therefore, research work in this field is unlimited. Suppose one technique is banned in one country, the research work for that goes on in another. When one nation develops an innovation, which can solve a major issue like human disease, in another country, it becomes mandatory for that country to incorporate this invention. Biotechnology is highly supported financially in most of developed countries. In Netherland, the Department of Economics, health and Education, Science supports biotech research (Bartoszek, bekierska, bell-lloch, de groot & singer, 2019).

There are four major forms of Biotechnology: Red, White, Blue and Green. Different colour represents different sectors of industries that are used for decreasing the miseries of human beings. For example, Red colour represents the Health sector involving Production of medicines, Genetic testing, other diagnostic techniques, tissue engineering etc; White colour is for gene-based bioindustries which help in the production of enzymes and other synthetic products; Blue colour comprises of Marine biotechnology and Aquaculture advances and green colour is for Agriculture and food industries.

The four sectors of biotechnology have brought a revolution in many industries. The biotechnology sector is experiencing a high growth in terms of research and development of new products which are used to enhance the lifestyle of people. There are two main components of Biotechnology i.e. DNA and genomics which are successfully used by different forms of biotechnology to manufacture new products. Research work in DNA and genomics is being done on a vast level. Even the combination of two or more forms of biotechnology has resulted in the production of various products beneficial to the public.

For example, Insulin production by DNA recombinant techniques, Pest-resistant crops, Xenotransplantation.

By mixing two different types of biotech forms, various products have been made. Insulin is one of the famous examples. It is a type of hormone secreted from β-pancreatic cells. It helps in controlling blood sugar levels in the body. Diabetes Mellitus is a kind of disorder that occurs due to deficiency of Insulin. Either the action of insulin is inhibited or there is no production of insulin hormone from β-cells. Diabetes mellitus is one the most prevalent non-communicable disease in the world. It has higher rates of mortality and morbidity. Therefore, using biotechnological methods, insulin has been prepared to cure this fatal disorder. This is achieved by mixing two types of biotech types: Red and white, a recombinant hormone is prepared by using E.coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and consuming it as a medicine.

Initially, insulin was derived from cattle and pigs to cure Diabetes but it had very high rates of allergic reactions (McClatchey,2016). Later, Recombinant techniques were implied to produce Recombinant human insulin. This is similar to human insulin and has less chance of causing an allergic reaction. There are two chains of insulin: A and B bonded by disulphide bonds. Both the chains are produced separately in E.coli. Purification is done by high-performance liquid chromatography and correct disulphide bonds are formed (M Keefer, Piron & De Meyts, 2011). Saccharomyces cerevisiae is predominantly used for the commercial production of recombinant human insulin. This insulin binds with insulin receptors in the body similar to the native Insulin.

As the incidence of diabetes is increasing, Recombinant human insulin production will be capable of fulfilling the need of insulin. Before the invention of insulin in the 20th century, the mortality rate of Diabetics was very high. By lowering the carbohydrate intake, only few days could be added to the patient’s life as many would die of starvation. The invention of Insulin was like a miracle for those suffering from this disease. After extensive study, scientists have been successful in making insulin using biotechnology either derived from bovine or pig pancreatic cells or via recombinant DNA techniques. The only disadvantage of insulin production by DNA recombinant technique is the cost of production. It is an expensive process (Baeshen et al., 2014).

Another example of a Mixture of biotech forms is pest-resistant crops. This depicts an example of combining green and white biotech forms. To increase the production of crops, a bacterial gene is incorporated to the crops which provide pest-resistant property to the crop. As the estimated population in 2050 is about 10 billion, there is an immediate need for increasing the food production in a way that is cost-effective and effective for the long term (Gatehouse, Ferry, Edwards & Bell, 2011). In 1990, Genetically modified crops like maize, soybean and cotton were introduced. These genetically modified crops have a gene encoding for endotoxins which are toxic to the insects like caterpillars, moths, beetles and some butterflies. This Bt gene is derived from Bacillus thuringiensis. Bt gene encodes for Cry protein which are toxic to Lepidopteran and Coleopteran insects. Cry proteins binds with the receptors in the epithelial cells of the midgut in insect, causing pore formation and death of insect.

The benefit of pest-resistant crops is that the pesticide is produced within the cell and there is no need to spray from outside. Also, as a pesticide is present within the cells, no risks of washing off. As the cry protein is toxic to insects but it has no side effect on humans. It is an environment-friendly method of controlling pest and increasing crop production. Also, no effects have been observed on other farm animals. It does not pollute the soil.

Advantages come with disadvantages. Due to use of a number of pesticides by farmers for about a century, the pests have learnt to evolve according to the environment. In case of the pest-resistant crop, there are some incidents reported of pest resistance. In US, corn rootworm resistance was noticed in cornfields. Many other incidents were reported later where about 5 of 13 resistant pest species were studied. There are few countries which do not allows the production of Transgenic crop as they are concerned about potential risks to human health and the environment (‘Insect Resistant Bt Crops’, 2019).

Biotechnology is a wonderful branch of science where biology is combined with technology and numerous problems in the world are being tackled. It is the sector where most of the research work is going on and the innovation are changing the world every day. It has helped in diagnosing and treating many diseases. It is played role in the production of high-yielding crops, It has contributed in solving environmental issues like pollution and waste management. Biotechnology has helped in advances in aquaculture. Modern biotechnology is focused to achieve the goal of world without hunger and diseases.