BIOTECHNOLOGY

AND
GENETIC MODIFICATION
 AGENDA
HOW AND WHY IS YEAST IMPORTANT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY?

★ HOW ARE BACTERIA USEFUL IN BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC

MODIFICATION?

★ WHY ARE BACTERIA USEFUL IN BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC

MODIFICATION?

★ HOW ARE FERMENTERS USED FOR LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION OF

BIOTECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS?

★ WHAT CONDITIONS NEED TO BE CONTROLLED IN A FERMENTER?

★ HOW ARE ENZYMES USED IN BIOTECHNOLOGY?

★ WHAT IS THE ROLE OF ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION IN YEAST DURING THE

PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELS AND IN BREAD-MAKING?

★ WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PECTINASE IN FRUIT JUICE PRODUCTION?

★ WHAT IS THE ROLE OF BIOLOGICAL WASHING POWDERS THAT CONTAIN

ENZYMES? Y

★ WHAT IS THE ROLE OF LACTASE IN LACTOSE-FREE MILK PRODUCTION?

BIOTECHNOLOGY IS THE APPLICATION OF
BIOLOGICAL ORGANISMS, SYSTEMS OR
PROCESSES TO MANUFACTURING AND
SERVICE INDUSTRIES.
GENETIC MODIFICATION INVOLVES THE
TRANSFER OF GENES FROM ONE
ORGANISM TO (USUALLY) AN UNRELATED
SPECIES
 USE OF BACTERIA IN
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND
GENETIC MODIFICATION

• CAN MAKE COMPLEX MOLECULES LIKE

PROTEINS
• RAPID REPRODUCTION
• CAN BE GROWN WITHOUT ANY ETHICAL
CONCERN
• PRESENCE OF PLASMIDS
 FERMENTATION
▪ Ethanol (alcohol) can be produced from fermented sugar or spare
grain by yeast. This could replace, or at least supplement, petrol.

▪ ethanol is being produced as a renewable source of energy for

cars. As well as being a renewable resource, ethanol produces
less pollution than petrol.

▪ However, biofuels are not yet economical to produce.

▪ Forests are being destroyed to plant soy beans or oil palms

removing the habitats of thousands of organisms.

▪ Another biofuel, oil from rapeseed or sunflower seed, can, with

suitable treatment, replace diesel fuel. It is less polluting than
diesel but more expensive to produce.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

 BREAD MAKING

• Flour, water, salt, oil and yeast are mixed to make a dough.
• Yeast has no enzymes for digesting the starch in flour, but adding
water activates the amylases already present in flour. The
amylases digest some of the starch to sugar.
• The yeast then ferments the sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide.
• A protein called gluten gives the dough a sticky, elastic texture,
which holds the bubbles of gas.
• The dough is repeatedly folded and stretched (kneaded) either by
hand, in the home, or mechanically in the bakery.
• The dough is then left for an hour or two at a temperature of
about 27°C while the yeast uses sugar for respiration.
• The carbon dioxide bubbles build up, making the dough rise to
about double its volume
• The dough may then be put straight into an oven at about 200°C.
• This temperature makes the bubbles expand more, kills the yeast
and evaporates the small quantities of ethanol while the bread
bakes
FRUIT JUICE PRODUCTION
• Pectinases are enzymes used to separate the juices from fruit
like apples.
• The enzymes can be extracted from fungi (e.g. Aspergillus
niger).
• They work by breaking down pectin, the jelly-like substance
that sticks plant cell walls to each other.
• The enzymes can also be used to make fruit juice more
transparent.
• During the breakdown process several different
polysaccharides are released, which make the juice cloudy.
• Pectinases break these down to make the juice clearer.
• The sugars produced also make the juice sweeter
 BIOLOGICAL WASHING POWDER
▪ Most commercial enzyme production involves proteindigesting enzymes
(proteases) and lipid-digesting enzymes (lipases) for use in the food and
textile industries.

▪ When combined in washing powders they remove stains in clothes

caused by proteins (e.g. blood or egg) and lipids (e.g. grease and oil).

▪ Protein and lipid molecules tend to be large and insoluble. When they
have been digested the products are small, soluble molecules, which can
pass out of the cloth.

▪ Biological washing powders save energy because they can be used to

wash clothes at lower temperatures, so there is no need to boil water.

▪ However, if they are put in water at higher temperatures the enzymes

become denatured and so they are not as effective.
 FERMENTATION

Lactose free milk Yogurt production

• lactose intolerance. This is a digestive problem where the • The food industry uses lactase in the production of
body does not produce enough of the enzyme lactase. As a milk products like yoghurt: it speeds up the process
result, the lactose stays in the gut, where it is fermented by and makes the yoghurt taste sweeter.
bacteria.
• Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus
• Add lactase to milk thermophilus.
• The bacterial culture is added to pasteurised milk at
• Lactase can be produced by fermenting genetically- 42°C. The function of the bacteria is to ferment
modified yeast and fungi with lactase gene lactose, the sugar present in milk. One of the
• immobilise lactase on the surface of beads. The milk products of the reaction is lactic acid, which gradually
is then passed over the beads and the lactose sugar increases the acidity of the fermented milk to a pH of
is effectively removed. This method avoids having the 4.5. The acidity causes the milk to clot, forming a soft
enzyme molecules in the milk because they stay on gel (yoghurt) and gives the product its characteristic
the beads. natural sharp flavour. Yoghurt is produced
commercially in large fermenters
 ANTIBIOTIC PRODUCTION

● The best way of producing

antibiotics is by fermenting
microorganisms on large scale
● one of the best known antibiotic is
penicillin produced by a fungus
names penicillin
● antibiotics work by attaching cell
wall or altering protein synthesis
CONDITIONS THAT NEED TO BE CONTROLLED IN FERMENTER

CONDITION DETAILS

TEMPERATURE maintained at around 26°C. Heat is generated during fermentation, so the mixture
needs to be cooled

PH slightly acidic – 5 to 6

OXYGEN sterilised air is blown into the mixture through air pipes and the mixture is stirred to
aerate it

NUTRIENT SUPPLY depends on what is being manufactured, but for penicillin the feedstock is molasses
or corn-steep liquor

WASTE PRODUCTS depends on what is being manufactured, but for penicillin they are the waste
nutrient fluid with bacterial residue. These are quite hazardous because of the
presence of traces of antibiotic. Gases given off may include carbon dioxide.
 MYCOPROTEIN

● Mycoprotein is a protein-rich meat substitute extracted from fungi.

● The filamentous fungus, Fusarium venenatum, is found in soil.
● Mycoprotein is becoming more popular because it contains no
cholesterol and is lower in saturated fats than protein in meat products.
● It is suitable as part of a vegan diet (which contains no animal products),
partly because of its high protein content.
● Its manufacture has been developed so it can be made commercially. It
is fermented in a similar way to antibiotics and enzymes, using glucose
and salts as the feedstock.
● One mycoprotein product is called Quorn .
 GENETIC MODIFIATION

Genetic modification is changing the genetic

material of an organism by removing, changing
or inserting individual genes.
HUMAN INSULIN PRODUCTION
● The human insulin gene is inserted into
bacteria, which then secrete human insulin.
● The human insulin produced in this way is
purer than insulin prepared from pigs or
cattle, which sometimes triggers allergic
reactions because of traces of foreign
protein.
● The GM insulin is acceptable to people with a
range of religious beliefs who may not be
allowed to use insulin from cows or pigs.
 GM CROPS
● Genetic modification has huge potential benefits in agriculture
but, apart from a relatively small range of crop plants, most
developments are in the experimental or trial stages.
● E.G making them pest and herbiside resistant

PEST RESISTANT
● Gene for the toxin that kills insects larvae is introduced into some
plant specie using bacterial vector
● the plant produces toxin and show increased resistance to attack
by insect larvae
● the gene also pases to next generation
HERBICIDE RESISTANT
● . A gene for an enzyme that breaks down glyphosate ( an effective
herbicide) is introduced into a plant cell culture
● this should reduce use of glyphosate which is carcinogenic and
even banned from use in many countries.
 ADDITIONAL VITAMINS
● Traditionally, vitamins and minerals have been added to food to boost
their nutritional value or given in tablet form to help people avoid
deficiency diseases.
● Over 100 million children in the world are deficient in vitamin A. This
deficiency often leads to blindness. A gene for beta-carotene, a
precursor of vitamin A, can be inserted into plants to alleviate this
widespread deficiency
● golden rice was a variety of rice developed through genetic
modification for this purpose. In countries where rice is a staple food,
the use of golden rice could reduce the incidence of the condition
called night blindness –
THANK YOU