History of Biotechnology Stages of Biotech
Ancient Classical Modern Ancient Biotech
Begins with early civilization Developments in ag and food production Few records exist Ancient Biotech
Archeologists research Ancient carvings and sketches sources of information Classical Biotech Follows ancient Makes wide spread use of methods from ancient, especially fermentation Methods adapted to industrial production Classical Biotech Produce large quantities of food products and other materials in short amount of time Meet demands of increasing population Classical Biotech
Many methods developed through classical biotech are widely used today. Modern Biotech Manipulation of genetic material within organisms Based on genetics and the use of microscopy, biochemical methods, related sciences and technologies Modern Biotech
Often known as genetic engineering Roots involved the investigation of genes Ancient Biotech
Not known when biotech began exactly Focused on having food and other human needs
Ancient Biotech Useful plants brought from the wild, planted near caves where people lived As food was available, ability to store and preserve emerged Ancient
Food preservation most likely came from unplanned events such as a fire or freeze Domestication 15,000 years ago, large animals were hard to capture People only had meat when they found a dead animal Came up with ways of capturing fish and small animals Domestication Food supplies often seasonal Winter food supplies may get quite low Domestication is seen by scientists as the beginning of biotech Domestication
Adaptation of organisms so they can be cultured Most likely began 11,000 – 12,000 years ago in the middle east Domestication Involved the collecting of seed from useful plants and growing crude crops from that seed Involved the knowledge that the seed had to properly mature Domestication Proper planting Need for water, light and other conditions for plant growth Earliest plants likely grains and other seeds used for food Domestication Raising animals in captivity began about the same time in history Easier to have an animal close by that to hunt and capture a wild one Domestication
Learned that animals need food and water Learned about simple breeding How to raise young Domestication
Cattle, goats and sheep were the first domesticated food animals Domestication
About 10,000 years ago, people had learned enough about plants and animals to grow their own food The beginning of farming. Food
Domestication resulted in food supplies being greater in certain times of the year Products were gathered and stored Food
Some foods rotted Others changed form and continued to be good to eat Foods stored in a cool cave did not spoil as quickly Food
Foods heated by fire also did not spoil as quickly Immersing in sour liquids prevented food decay Food preservation
Using processes that prevent or slow spoilage Heating, cooling, keeps microorganisms (mo’s) from growing Food preservation
Stored in bags of leather or jars of clay Fermentation occurs if certain mo’s are present Creates an acid condition that slows or prevents spoilage Cheese One of the first food products made through biotechnology Began some 4,000 years ago Nomadic tribes in Asia Cheese
Strains of bacteria were added to milk Caused acid to form Resulting in sour milk Cheese
Enzyme called “rennet” was added Rennet comes from the lining of the stomachs of calves Cheese
Rennet is genetically engineered today Not all cheese is made from produced rennet Yeast Long used in food preparation and preservation Bread baking Yeast produces a gas in the dough causing the dough to rise Yeast
Fermented products Vinegar Require the use of yeast in at least one stage of production Yeast
Species of fungi Some are useful Some may cause diseases Vinegar
Ancient product used to preserve food Juices and extracts from fruits and grains can be fermented
Fermentation Process in which yeast enzymes chemically change compounds into alcohol In making vinegar the first product of fermentation is alcohol Fermentation
Alcohol is converted to acetic acid by additional microbe activity Acid gives vinegar a sour taste Vinegar prevents growth of some bacteria Vinegar Keeps foods from spoiling Used in pickling Biblical references to wine indicate the use of fermentation some 3,000 years ago Fermentation control
In ancient times, likely happened by accident Advancements occurred in the 1800’s and early 1900’s Fermenters
Used to advance fermentation process Specially designed chamber that promotes fermentation Fermenters
Allowed better control, especially with vinegar New products such as glycerol, acetone, and citric acid resulted Development
Of yeasts that were predictable and readily available led to modern baking industry Antibiotics
Use of fermentation hastened the development of antibiotics A drug used to combat bacterial infections Antibiotics
Penicillin Developed in the late1920’s Introduced in the 1940’s First drug produced by microbes Antibiotics
Many kinds available today Limitations in their use keep disease producing organisms from developing immunity to antibiotics Antibiotics
Use antibiotics only when needed. Overuse may make the antibiotic ineffective when really needed later Antibiotics
Some disease organisms are now resistant to certain antibiotics Used in both human and vet medicine Modern Biotech
Deals with manipulating genetic info Microscopy and advanced computer technology are used In-depth knowledge of science Modern Biotech
Based on genetics research from the mid 1800’s Genetics
Study of heredity Most work has focused on animal and plant genetics Genes – determiners of heredity Genes
Carry the genetic code Understanding genetic structure essential for genetic engineering Heredity How traits are passed from parents to offspring Members of the same species pass the characteristics of that species Heredity
Differences exist within each species. Differences are known as variability Heredity &variability
Are used in modern biotechnology Modern Biotech
Use of biotech to produce new life forms Emerged in mid 1900’s Made possible by rDNA technology rDNA Recombinant DNA Process Genetic material is moved from one organism to another Materials involved are quite small rDNA
Challenging and often controversial Many have opposing or negative views of biotechnolgy People in Biotech
Zacharias Janssen Discovered the principle of the compound microscope in 1590 Dutch eye glass maker Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
Developed single lens microscope in 1670’s First to observe tiny organisms and document observations Anton V.L.
Work led to modern microscopes Electron microscope developed in 1931 by group of German scientists Gregor Mendel
Formulated basic laws of heredity during mid 1800’s Austrian Botanist and monk Experimented with peas Mendel
Studied inheritance of seven pairs of traits Bred and crossbred thousands of plants Determined that some traits were dominant and other recessive Mendel
Findings were published in 1866 Largely ignored for 34 years Johan Friedrich Miescher Swiss Biologist Isolated nuclei of white blood cells in 1869 Led to identification of nucleic acid by Walter Flemming Walter Sutton
Determined in 1903 that chromosomes carried units of heredity identified by Mendel Named “genes” in 1909 by Wilhelm Johannsen, Danish Botanist Thomas Hunt Morgan Studied genetics of fruit flies Early 1900’s Experimented with eye color His work contributed to the knowledge of X and Y chromosomes Thomas Hunt Morgan
Nobel Peace Prize in 1933 for research in gene theory Ernst Ruska
Build the first electron microscope in 1932 German electrical engineer Microscope offered 400X magnification Alexander Fleming Discovered penicillin in 1928 First antibiotic drug used in treating human disease Observed growth of molds (Penicillium genus) in a dish that also contracted bacteria Alexander Fleming Bacteria close to the molds were dead Extracting and purifying the molds took a decade of research Penicillin first used in 1941 Alexander Fleming
Penicillin credited with saving many lives during WWII when wounded soldiers developed infections. Rosalind Elsie Franklin Research in France and England in mid 1900’s Led to discovery of structure of DNA Her early research was used to produce an atomic bomb Rosalind Franklin
Set up X ray diffraction lab Photographs of DNA showed that it could have a double helix structure Rosalind Franklin
Some questions surround the theft of her work in 1952 Including x ray photographs Watson and Crick
James Watson Francis Crick Collaborated to produce the first model of DNA structure in 1953 Watson and Crick
Described DNA dimensions and spacing of base pairs Had major impact on genetic engineering carried out today Watson
Born in the US Crick – born in England Collaborative research at Cambridge University in England Norman E. Borlaug
Developed wheat varieties producing high yields Research in Mexico Semi dwarf varieties Developed wheat variety that would grow in climates where other varieties would not Borlaug
Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 Credited with helping relieve widespread hunger in some nations Mary Clare King
Research into nature of DNA during late 1900’s Determined that 99% of human DNA is identical to chimpanzee Mary Clare King
1975 found similar gene pools between humans and chimpanzee made it possible to research hereditary causes of breast cancer Ian Wilmut Cloning of a sheep named Dolly in 1997 Produced from tissue of an adult sheep Previous cloning efforts had been from early embryos Research
Use of systematic methods to answer questions. Problems may be basic or applied Basic
Require generating new info to gain understanding Applied – involve use of knowledge already acquired. Research
Supplies facts that can be used to improve a process or product Settings range from elaborate labs to field plots Field Plot Small area of land that is used to test questions or hypothesis Belief is that same result would be obtained if carried out on larger scale Field Plots
Often tested several times Known as replication Research
Done by agencies, universities, private companies, individuals Biotech research in ag is carried out by ag experiment stations and large corporations Development
Creation of new products or methods based on findings of research Carefully studied before being put into full scale use Development
New products tested before approval Government agencies such as the FDA are involved Prototype is developed – research model that is carefully tested Prototype
Becomes a pattern for the production of similar products After being fully tested, full scale production begins.