Biotechnology and its Applications Test - 42

A bioreactor may refer to any manufactured or engineered device or system that supports a biologically active environment. In animals, the production of biologically active recombinant proteins use transgenic animals as bioreactor. Bioreactor or fermentation processes are the core manufacturing process in the biotech industry. 

Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species. For example, in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, resistance to chemical treatments (e.g., resistance to a herbicide) or improving the nutrient profile of the crop. GM mustard is being developed to increase the productivity of mustard to meet the ever-growing demand for edible oil in the country. Bt cotton is a genetically modified variety of cotton producing an insecticide. It is produced by Monsanto. It is supplied in India's Maharashtra state.

For a number of genetically modified crops, the genes never enter the food supply, since those parts of the plants are removed during processing. For GM crops in which whole plant cells are ingested, the genes and gene products are usually destroyed through digestion in the stomach and small intestine. So, it is unlikely that eating GM crops can harm human beings.

PCR and RFLP are the methods used for genetic fingerprinting. DNA fragmentation plays an important part in forensics, especially that of DNA profiling. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses the variable lengths of DNA fragments which are formed from the digestion of a DNA sample with a restriction endonuclease. They are then hybridized with DNA probes that bind to a complementary DNA sequence in the sample. In polymerase chain reaction (PCR), This sample DNA is amplified from a single copy to millions of copies of DNA. It used to amplify a specific region of a DNA strand. Most PCR methods amplify DNA fragments of between 0.1 and 10 kilo base pairs (kb), although some techniques allow amplification of fragments up to 40 kb in size. 

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the causative agent of crown gall disease, a form of tumor and is a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria. 
The symptoms of the disease are caused by the insertion of a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA'), from a plasmid, into the plant cell, which is incorporated at a semi-random location into the plant genome. This site can be used for the insertion of the desired gene into the plant genome, after making the plasmid non-pathogenic.

• Biowar or biological warfare is the issue where biological organisms are used as weapons to carry out the war by spreading the pathogens in a specific part of the geographical region to deliberately spread a deadly disease.
• The use of bio-resources by multinational companies and other organizations without proper authorization from the countries and people concerned without compensatory payment or the exploitation of biological resources or its knowledge without legal permission is called biopiracy.
• When individuals/groups/country to establish their right over the origin of a particular organism/plant or biological resources is called as biopatent. 
• The discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research and applications is called bioethics.

RNAi has also been exploited in plants to develop resistance against nematodes and this approach has appeared as a novel tool to control plant parasitic nematodes. dsRNAs can be produced through engineered plants that have the ability to silence target genes in nematode body. The delivery of dsRNAs from plant to nematode occurs by the ingestion process of plant cytoplasm and after its ingestion into the nematode body, accelerates the RNAi, that results in inactivation of targeted genes through dsRNA.

Transgenic mice are being formed for use in testing the safety of vaccines before they are used on human beings. Transgenic mice are being used to test the safety of the polio vaccine. Many transgenic animals are developed to increase our understanding of how genes contribute to the development of disease so that investigation of new treatments for diseases is made possible. Now transgenic models exist for many human diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, haemophilia, thalassemia, etc.

Steps involved in the production of humulin hormone are as follow:

The disease is caused by a mutation in a gene on chromosome 20. The gene codes for the enzyme adenosine deaminase (ADA). Without this enzyme, the body is unable to break down a toxic substance called deoxyadenosine. The toxin builds up and destroys infection-fighting immune cells called T and B lymphocytes. There are no real cures for ADA deficiency, but doctors are trying to restore ADA levels and improve immune system function with a variety of treatments like gene therapy by inserting synthetic DNA containing a normal ADA gene into immune cells. The normal ADA genes are delivered to immature blood cells isolated from the babies umbilical cords. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-) is a multifunctional cytokine that is secreted by macrophages and can elicit a variety of effects: it can cause cytolysis of certain tumor cells; TNF is known for its ability to induce haemorrhagic tumor necrosis and tumor regression. Gene therapy targets the expression of therapeutic genes to the desired target cells and makes it effective for cancer treatment.