BIOTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES AND THEIR

APPLICATIONS FOR SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Manju Sharma

23rd April, 2007, Lucknow

Science and technology have been and would continue to be more vigorously and philosophically in the driving seat for a rapid, sustainable socio-economic development in the world.

A new frontier of science i.e. Modern biology and biotechnology - the greatest intellectual enterprise of humankind.

The integration of natural resource and engineering, in order to achieve the application of micro-organisms as well as parts thereof, and molecular analogues for products and services have become the challenges for the scientific community.

The business world defines it as “Making money with Biology”

TThe most important global challenges to be addressed with S&T interventions, specially Biotechnology are: -Alleviating poverty, improving food security and reducing malnutrition, especially among women and children.-Providing sufficient income for the rapidly increasing number of urban poor.-Using new technologies for environmentally sustainable socio-economic development.

BIOTECHNOLOGY BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW FOR THE NEW

MILLENIUM A FEW MILLENIUM A FEW GLIMPSESGLIMPSES

Micropropagation

Plant Genome Research

Crop Biotechnology

and Transgenics

Brain Research Centre Immunology Cell Science

Diagnostics Molecular probes

Gene therapy and functional genomics

Special Societal

Programmes

Human Resource

DevelopmentBioinformaticsAquaculture and Marine Resource

Biodiversity Inventorisation,

Characterisation, Conservation

Patenting in Biotechnology and

Biosafety

Prospecting of Genes and Molecules

Environmental Pollution

abatemant

Animal Biotechnology

New Generation Vaccines

Bioproduct Development Down Stream Processing

Agriculture

Biotechnology holds the key to increasing the

yield of staple crops by allowing farmers to

reap rich harvests from currently cultivated land, while preserving

the fertility of the land.

Knowledge based approaches including crop genomics can provide powerful tools to enhance the food security, by improving local agricultural productivity, minimizing the use of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, insulating crops against losses from diseases and pests, curtailing post harvest loses including food spoilage, improving food quality and nutrition, increasing crop tolerance to stress factors such as drought and salinity problems, and value addition to have nutritionally rich products.

A Mexican scientist Luis Herrera Estrella has shown that by using

biotech tools, tropical crops can be modified to tolerate

aluminum and acid soils to significantly

increase the productivity of corn, rice and papaya.

The use of DNA markers provides new solutions for problems of crop productivity and sustainable agricultural practices. Biotech tools can really boost the ailing economy of rural populations engaged in farming.

Biotechnological methods may be used to decrease the time necessary

to detect food borne pathogens, toxin and

chemical contaminants as well as to increase

detection sensitivity.

Transgenic plants may be developed to produce

antigenic proteins (Vaccines) or other molecules.

Global- Area in transgenic - 2006 - 102 mha (252 m. acre)

India – 3.7 mha - Bt Cotton

China – 3.5 mha

Agricultural and plant biotechnology are stated to be an important business in our country, as India is regarded as the largest producer of milk and the second largest for fruits and vegetables.

Analysts predict that by 2010 India can become World’s largest exporter of agriculture.

Biotechnology delivers the added

values primarily through the seed.

It is a scale neutral technology.

Health Products for Farm Animals  

Profound impact on animal health has been

seen in using accurate, fast and efficient

diagnostic testing kits.

Ushering a New Human Health Care Regime

 Rapid and more accurate diagnostic tests,

therapies with less or no side effects, vaccines as therapeutic and prophylactic measure, gene therapy and new molecular medicine has significantly transformed the health

Scenario world over.

In the words of Nobel Laureate Crick: 

“It has impacted significantly and would have an

overwhelming impact on human health in the coming years.”

Biotechnology has resulted in decreasing the cost of diagnostics. A new blood test has

been developed to monitor Low Density Lypoprotein (LDL)

in blood at a muchfaster rate and is

less cumbersome for patients also.

Genomics 

With the completion of original goals of the Human Genome Project, the time is to

translate genome-based knowledgeinto human health benefits by

developing and applyinglarge-scale genomic

strategies.

GGenomics and proteomics will allow to expand current biotechnology-based approaches to develop: 

 Quicker and more accurate diagnostic kits for plants, animals and human diseases & apply genome-based

diagnostic methods for the:  1. Prediction of susceptibility to disease, 2. Prediction of drug response, 3. Early detection of illness and 4. Accurate molecular classification of disease.

 

                     New and safer vaccines        System to detect microbial contaminants in

food products or donated blood New drug targets

New therapeutic compounds & better pharmaceuticals for therapies of human beings

with fewer side effects.

Recent research jointly done by National Institute of Agro Biological Sciences in Tokyo

and a private industry in Japan have developed rice strains which contain high level of

another hormone the GLP-1 which promotes the pancreas release Insulin.

They say that consumption of one bowl of this rice can keep the diabetes away – a disease

which is affecting more than 150 million people world wide. The work is being

actively pursued.

Stem Cell Research

Stem Cell Biology has been identified as a potential area of new research.

Embryonic stem cells could be the

most powerful tools

TThe ability to grow human tissue of all kinds may make it possible to cure numerous cell-based

diseases like:              Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases,

Spinal cord injury Stroke, burns, Heart diseases, Type 1 diabetes, Osteoarthritis & rheumatoid

arthritis Leukemia & other blood diseases Certain immune and genetic disorders

Industrial Applications  

The biotech industry, although nascent at the present time and accounting for a mere 2 percent of the global biotechnology market, is poised for exponential growth over the next five years with an expected global market share of 10 percent.

Indigenous biotech products and services presently account for approximately

$150 million.

An emerging segment is Agri-biotech, which is expected to realize rapid growth over the next five years and will account for at least

15 percent of the total indigenous biotech market.

SSome of the industrial applications cover

 1. Development of green plastics from renewable crops such as corn and soybean.I2. Improve manufacturing processes including the use

of enzymes and less toxic byproducts from pulp. R3. Reduce the level of toxins evaluating fabric process. I4. Improve baking process, fermentation derived preservatives and techniques for food safety analysis.

Marine Biotechnology  

Biotech tools have been used to increase the productively or food value

of the cultured species, drugs and vaccines to enhance immunity to

diseases or other stresses; genetic improvement of strains and

identification of deleterious or desirable genes within stocks.

Farming of seaweeds has resulted in production

of biopolymers with many industrial applications.

For instance carrageena is widely used in food

and cosmetic industries. This is a million dollar

industry since India has a large coastline of 7000 km and nearly 770 species have been

reported from India.

Of late, some Indian companies also have started seaweed cultivation, which

eventually would create nearly 50,000 jobs in coastal states, especially for women.

Biodiversity  

Increased economic growth spurred by genetically improved crops will provide much-needed resources

in the efforts to conserve biodiversity.

Improved tools such as cryopreservation for ex-situ conservation

Gene shuffling to create more biodiversity, even re-create extinct crop traits

Use of DNA markers to provide insight into the dynamics of biodiversity in crop plants

Restoration ecology

Some Examples

Unit of Women Entrepreneur trained by HESCO, Dehradun (Fruit Products)

Meeting with self-help group (SHG). Training in Mushroom Cultivation and Vermi-composting. IIT Delhi

To Conclude

The DNA is, in a beautifully written article ‘The Eternal Molecule’ as described by the editor of

NATURE:  

“Few molecules captivate like DNA. It enthralls scientists, inspires artists, and challenges society.

It is, in every sense, a modern icon. A defining moment for DNA research was the discovery of its

structure half a century ago.”

Genomics and Proteomics will allow us to expand current biotechnology based approaches to health care, agriculture and ecology. Therapeutic uses of endogenous proteins and antibodies, discovery of new therapeutics, microbe-free vaccines, quick and accurate diagnostics, regenerative medicine and gene therapy to treat certain diseases are all important facets of modern medicine.

TThe knowledge base is the foundation of:

 P 1. Predictive tests of impending diseases that

can be prevented with targeted interventions F2. Fundamental changes in the ways drugs are discovered, tested and developedT3. Therapies that are tailored to the specific

genetic make up of the patient

T4. Therapies that address and possibly correct the biochemical causes of a diseases rather

than only alleviating the symptoms. 5. Develop nutritious crops with right proportion of all the important dietary constituents produce foods with edible vaccines. E6. Ensure bioindustrial development with eco-friendly technologies.

When James Watson was asked about cancer (Newsweek, February 2003) which is very close to his heart, how quickly can we find a cure?

I quote his answer: “A decade. Most people would say that’s

much too optimistic. If I owned a big drug company, I’d give myself two years, with a good cash flow. At least we’d be testing in two years. We might be wrong, but it would be worth testing.”

I quote from Gitanjali: “Where the mind is without fear and the headis held high;Where knowledge is free;Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;Where words come out from the depth of truth;Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;Where the clear stream or reason has not lost its way into the desert sand of dead habit;Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake”.