Unit 10: Explore biotechnology applications in the agriculture industry

• Compare methods of plant and animal improvement as a result of biotechnology

Biotechnology

• Is the process of using cells or components of cells to produce products or processes

Microorganisms

• Are used in biotechnology to produce products or carry out processes

Illustrations of biotechnology

• The use of yeast to make bread rise• Bacteria is used to ferment sauerkraut• Bacteria is used to produce dozens of types of cheeses

and other dairy products• Microorganisms are used to transform fruit and grains

into alcoholic beverages

E. Coli

• Is bacteria that has been genetically engineered to produce human insulin in the lab

Biological control

• Is an example of a biotechnology applications

Silage

• Is an example of biotechnology in livestock feed production, green plants are converted to livestock feed

The genetic connection

• Genetics: is the biology of heredity• Heredity: is the transmission of characteristics from an

organism to its offspring through genes in reproductive cells

• Gregor Johann Mendel: discovered the effect of genetics on plant characteristics with his experimentation with garden peas

Selective breeding

• Is the earliest example of livestock improvement

Gregor Johann Mendel

• Has been credited for creating the foundation for the study of Heredity

Clone

• Is offspring that is an exact duplicate or copy of the parents

Progeny

• Is a common synonym for offspring

Genes

• Are components of cells that determine the individual characteristics of living things

• Genes are comprised of DNA

DNA

• Is the acronym for Deoxyribonucleic Acid• Is coded material in a cell that determines what that cell

and its successive cells will become• DNA occurs in pairs of strands intertwined with each other

and is connected by chemicals called Bases

DNA pairs

• Adenine pairs with thymine• Guanine pairs with cytosine

Mapping

• Is the matching of genes to certain traits• Is used by geneticists to determine which genes are

responsible for certain traits

Examples of mapping

• Tendency of baldness in humans• Height of plants at a certain maturity• Tendency of females to have twin offspring

Fingerprinting

• Is also known as DNA mapping

Applications of biotechnology in agriscience

• The application of DNA matching to identify parents or offspring

Genetic engineering

• Is the movement of genetic information in the form of genes from one cell to another cell

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Genetic engineering was discovered by scientists in the early 1980s and was a breakthrough in modifying the genetic makeup of organisms

Products of genetic engineering

• One of the first commercial products of genetic engineering was insulin, a chemical used by people with diabetes

• Herbicide resistant crops are a product of genetic engineering

• BST (bovine somatotrapin) is a hormone used to increase milk production in dairy cattle and became available commercially as a result of genetic engineering

• Other bacteria strains are under development to convert solid waste from humans and livestock into sugar and fuel

Ice-minus

• Is a bacteria that was genetically altered to retard frost formation on plant leaves

X-gal

• Is a compound that causes marked bacteria to turn blue, this can be easily detected and traced in experimental or real-life situations

Genetically altered plants

• May be resistance to drought, insects or plant diseases