Applications of Biotech on Agriculture

Biotechnology is broadly defined as any technique that uses live organisms viz. bacteria, viruses, fungi, yeast, animal cells, plant cells etc. to make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals or to engineer micro-organisms for specific uses. It encompasses genetic engineering, inclusive of enzyme and protein engineering plant and animal tissue culture technology,
biosensors for biological monitoring, bioprocess and fermentation technology. Biotechnology is essentially and interdisciplinary are consisting of biochemistry, molecular chemistry, molecular and microbiology, genetics and immunology etc. it is concerned with upgradation of quality and also utilization of livestock and resources for the well being of both animals and plants. 

Modern biotechnology holds considerable promise to meet challenges in agricultural production. It makes use of life sciences, chemical sciences and engineering sciences in achieving and improving the technological applications of the capabilities of the living organism of their derivates to make products of value to man and society. It is used in living systems to develop commercial processes and products which also includes the techniques of Recombinant DNA, gene transfer, embryo manipulation, plant regeneration, cell culture, monoclonal antibodies and bio-processed engineering. These techniques can transform ideas into practical applications, viz, certain crops can be genetically altered to increase their tolerance to certain herbicides. Biotechnology can be used to develop safer vaccines against viral and bacterial diseases. It also offers new ideas and techniques applicable to agriculture and also develops a better understanding of living systems of our environment and ourselves. It has a tremendous potential fir improving crop production, animal agriculture and bio-processing. Agricultural biotech has been producing innumerable new products that have the possible to alter our lives for the improved.

Vaccines:

Genetically engineered vaccines are being developed to protect fish and livestock against pathogens and parasites. Although vaccines developed using traditional approaches have had a major impact on the control of foot-and-mouth and tick-borne diseases, rinderpest and other diseases affecting livestock, recombinant vaccines can offer various advantages over conventional vaccines in terms of safety, specificity and stability. Importantly, such vaccines, coupled with the appropriate diagnostic test, allow the distinction between vaccinated and naturally infected animals. This is important in disease control programmes as it enables continued vaccination even when the shift from the control to the eradication stage is contemplated.

Today, quality improved vaccines are available for, for example, Newcastle disease, classical swine fever and rinderpest. In addition to the technical improvements, advances in biotechnology will make vaccine production cheaper, and therefore improve supply and availability for smallholders.

Antibiotics:

Plants are used to produce antibiotics for both human and animal use. Expressing antibiotic proteins in livestock feed, fed directly to animals, is less costly than traditional antibiotic production, but this practice raises many bioethics issues, because the result is widespread, possibly unneccessary use of antibiotics which may promote growth of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. Several advantages to using plants to produce antibiotics for humans are reduced costs due to the larger amount of product that can be produced from plants versus a fermentation unit, ease of purification, and reduced risk of contamination compared to that of using mammalian cells and culture media.

Biofuels:

The agricultural industry plays a big role in the biofuels industry, as long as the feedstock’s for fermentation and cleansing of bio-oil, bio-diesel and bio-ethanol. Genetic engineering and enzyme optimization technique are being used to develop improved quality feedstocks for more efficient change and higher BTU outputs of the resulting fuel products. High-yielding, energy-dense crops can minimize relative costs associated with harvesting and transportation , resulting in higher value fuel products.

Biofuels can replace 30% of current transportation energy needs in an environmentally responsible way without affecting global food production with plausible technology developments. Current practices, however, do not make biofuels economically competitive, nor optimize energy use and emission characteristics.

For biofuels to play an important role in meeting future energy needs, a multidisciplinary approach is required, in which the activities of biologists, agronomists, engineers, energy experts and policy specialists are integrated. In addition to developing specific high-yielding energy crops, the impact, efficiency and sustainability of biorefinery facilities need to be improved. Research is required to enhance the infrastructure for the development of biofuels (including transport, distribution, and production chain), in order make the production of biofuels economically sustainable. Commercialization and policy support are critical for success.

Equally important are studies to obtain a clear diagnosis of the environmental impact of specific biofuels, in terms of combustion emissions, which vary according to the specific biofuel used; of energy inputs required for the manufacture of biofuels; and in terms of the environmental footprint of fertilizers and herbicides used during the production of energy crops.

Plant and Animal Reproduction:

Enhancing plant and animal behavior by traditional methods like cross-pollination, grafting, and cross-breeding is time-consuming. Biotech advance let for specific changes to be made rapidly, on a molecular level through over-expression or removal of genes, or the introduction of foreign genes.

The last is possible using gene expression control mechanism such as specific gene promoters and transcription factors. Methods like marker-assisted selection improve the efficiency of "directed" animal breeding, without the controversy normally associated with GMOs. Gene cloning methods must also address species differences in the genetic code, the presence or absence of introns and post-translational modifications such as methylation.

Insect Resistant Crops:

Today, plants can be genetically engineered to produce their own Bt. Genetic (recombinant DNA) engineering is the modification of DNA molecules to produce changes in plants, animals, or other organisms. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a double-stranded molecule that is present in every cell of an organism and contains the hereditary information that passes from parents to offspring. This hereditary information is contained in individual units or sections of DNA called genes. The genes that are passed from parent to offspring determine the traits that the offspring will have.

In the last twenty years, scientists made a surprising discovery - DNA is interchangeable among animals, plants, bacteria ... any organism! In addition to using traditional breeding methods of improving plants and animals through years of crossbreeding and selection, scientists can now isolate the gene or genes for the traits they want in one animal or plant and move them into another. Of course, when a trait is controlled by several genes, the transfer process is more difficult. The plants or animals modified in this way are called transgenic.

First, scientists identify a strain of Bt that kills the targeted insect. Then they isolate the gene that produces the lethal protein. That gene is removed from the Bt bacterium and a gene conferring resistance to a chemical (usually antibiotic or herbicide) is attached that will prove useful in a later step.

The Bt gene with the resistance gene attached is inserted into plant cells. At this point, scientists must determine which plant cells have successfully received the Bt gene and are now transformed. Any plant cell that has the Bt gene must also have the resistance gene that was attached to it. Researchers grow the plant cells in the presence of the antibiotic or herbicide and select the plant cells that are unaffected by it. These genetically transformed plant cells are then grown into whole plants by a process called tissue culture. The modified plants produce the same lethal Bt protein produced by Bt bacteria because the plants now have the same gene.

Research to transfer insect resistance genes from Bt to crop plants is well under way. Corn, cotton, and potatoes are three of the many commercial crops targeted for Bt insect resistance.

Flowers:

There is more to agricultural biotechnology than just fighting disease or improving food quality. There are some purely aesthetic applications and an example of this is the use of gene identification and transfer techniques to improve the color, smell, size and other features of flowers. Likewise, biotech has been used to make improvements to other common ornamental plants, in particular, shrubs and trees. Some of these changes are similar to those made to crops, such as enhancing cold resistance of a breed of tropical plant, so it can be grown in northern gardens.

Pesticide-Resistant Crops:

The chemical arsenal we have developed in an attempt to rid our homes of rodents and our crops of insects is losing its power. We have simply caused pest populations to evolve, unintentionally applying artificial selection in the form of pesticides. Individuals with a higher tolerance for our poisons survive and breed, and soon resistant individuals outnumber the ones we can control.

It has the menacing sound of an Alfred Hitchcock movie: Millions of rats aren't even getting sick from pesticide doses that once killed them. In one county in England, these "super rats" have built up such resistance to certain toxins that they can consume five times as much poison as rats in other counties before dying. From insect larvae that keep munching on pesticide-laden cotton in the U.S. to head lice that won't wash out of children's hair, pests are slowly developing genetic shields that enable them to survive whatever poisons humans give them. 

In many ways, human actions are hastening pests' evolution of resistance. Farmers spray higher doses of pesticide if the traditional dose doesn't kill, so genetic mechanisms that enable the pests to survive the stronger doses rapidly become widespread as the offspring of resistant individuals come to dominate the population.

These days, farmers and backyard gardeners alike are trying to outsmart the pests by using a variety of natural methods. With "integrated pest management," scientists encourage the spread of natural enemies of pests, or they lure the pests with a meal that's even more tasty than the vulnerable crop. Pesticides are only used as a last resort if every other method fails. Integrated pest management has had some successes, but pesticides are still the world's most popular way to kill pests. Something to ponder the next time you can't seem to kill a cockroach.
Nutrient Supplementation:

Nutritional supplements include vitamins, minerals, herbs, meal supplements, sports nutrition products, natural food supplements, andother related products used to boost the nutritional content of the diet.

Nutritional supplements are used for many purposes. They can be added to the diet to boost overall health and energy; to provide immunesystem support and reduce the risks of illness and age-related conditions; to improve performance in athletic and mental activities; and tosupport the healing process during illness and disease. However, most of these products are treated as food and not regulated as drugsare.

 Industrial Strength Fibers:

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Fiberguide's staff of engineers, technical sales professionals and experienced production team unites in developing products and assemblies tailored to meet customers' technical and economic requisites. Fiberguide’s corporate and optical fiber manufacturing facilities are located in Stirling, New Jersey, with a manufacturing/assembly facility in Caldwell, Idaho.