Specialized English in Biotechnology This material is dedicated to students majoring in Biotechnology at Hefei University BIGECHNOLOGY All rights reserved
Specialized English in Biotechnology This material is dedicated to students majoring in Biotechnology at Hefei University. All rights reserved
Contents Lesson 1 What is Biotechnology?. .,2 Lesson 2 Where Did Biotechnology Begin?. 3 Lesson3 Brief History of Biotechnology 5 Lesson 4 Dogma,DNA,and Enzymes. ..7 Lesson 5 Polymerase Chain Reaction-Xeroxing DNA Lesson6 Monoclonal Antibody Technology. Lesson 7 The Human Genome Project. .13 Lesson8 Whose Genome is It,Anyway? .16 Lesson 9 Agriculture -An Overview ..18 Lesson 10 Gene Gun Speeds Search for New Orehid Colors .21 Lesson II Transforming Plants .23 Lesson 12 Animals and Animal Health. 26 Lesson 13 Biomining 28 Lesson 15 New Foods and Food Producers... 31 Lesson 16 Blazing a Genetic Trail in Medicine .34 Reading materials. 36 1
1 Contents Lesson 1 What is Biotechnology? ................................................................................................ 2 Lesson 2 Where Did Biotechnology Begin? .................................................................................. 3 Lesson 3 Brief History of Biotechnology...................................................................................... 5 Lesson 4 Dogma, DNA, and Enzymes.......................................................................................... 7 Lesson 5 Polymerase Chain Reaction - Xeroxing DNA .................................................................. 9 Lesson 6 Monoclonal Antibody Technology.................................................................................11 Lesson 7 The Human Genome Project.........................................................................................13 Lesson 8 Whose Genome is It, Anyway? .....................................................................................16 Lesson 9 Agriculture - An Overview...........................................................................................18 Lesson 10 Gene Gun Speeds Search for New Orchid Colors ..........................................................21 Lesson 11 Transforming Plants...................................................................................................23 Lesson 12 Animals and Animal Health ........................................................................................26 Lesson 13 Biomining ................................................................................................................28 Lesson 14 Biofuel.....................................................................................................................29 Lesson 15 New Foods and Food Producers..................................................................................31 Lesson 16 Blazing a Genetic Trail in Medicine.............................................................................34 Reading materials.....................................................................................................................36
Lesson 1 What is Biotechnology? Biotechnology in one formor another has flourished since prehistoric times When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals.they learned to use biotechnology.The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine.or that milk could be converted into cheeseor yogurt,or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology.When the first bakers found that they coud make a of spongy bread rather than a firm. thin cracker,they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists.The first animal breeders.realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals,engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology What then is biotechnology?The term brings to mind many different things.Some think of developing new typesof animls.Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still othersisn the possibility of growing rops thatemore utrtiousand naturally pest-resistant tofeed a rapidly growing world population.many first-thoughtespon as there are people to whom the question can be posed In its purest form,the term"biotechnology"refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment.Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells toraise bread dough and to beverages,and bacterial cel tomake and yogurts and as they bred their strong.productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring Throughout human history,we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively.The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and theircel products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms.Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology,we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells.Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism.Asaresu for example,we can cause bacterial cellsto produce human molecules.Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed.And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed. 2
2 Lesson 1 What is Biotechnology? Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology. When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists. The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology. What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed. In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring. Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human molecules. Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed. And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed
Lesson 2 Where Did Biotechnology Begin? With the Basics Certain practices that we would now elassify as applications of biotechnology have been in use since man's earliest days Nearly 10.000 years ago,our ancestors were producing wine,beer,and bread by using fermentation,a natural process in which the biological activity of one-celed organisms plays a critical role. In fermentation,microorganisms such as bacteria,yeasts,and moldse mixed with ingredients that provide them with food.As they digest this food,the organisms produce two eritical by-produets,carbon dioxide In beer making yeast cells break down starch and sugar (present in cereal grains)to form alcohol, the frothor head,of the beer results from the carbon dioxide gas that the cells produce.In simple terms. the living cells rearrange chemical elements toform new products that they need to live and reproduce. By happy coincidence,in the process of doing so.they help make a popular beverage. Bread baking is also dependent on the action of yeast cells.The bread dough contains nutrients that these cells digest for their own sustenance.The digestion process generates alcohol (which contributes to that wonderful aroma of baking bread)and carbon dioxide gas(which makes the dough rise and forms the honeycomb texture of the baked loaf). Discovery of the fementation allowed early peoples to produce foods by allowing live organisms toact on other ingredients.But our found that,by manipulating the conditions under which the femmentation took pace,they could improve both the quality and the yield of the ingredients themselves Crop Improvement Although plant is a relatively moder discipline,its fundamental techniques have been applied throughout human history.When early man went through the crucial ransition from nomadic hunter to settled farmer,cultivated crops became vital for survival.These primitive farmers although ignorant of the natural principles at work,found that they could increase the yield and improve the taste of crops by selecting seeds from particularly desirable plants 3
3 Lesson 2 Where Did Biotechnology Begin? With the Basics Certain practices that we would now classify as applications of biotechnology have been in use since man's earliest days. Nearly 10,000 years ago, our ancestors were producing wine, beer, and bread by using fermentation, a natural process in which the biological activity of one-celled organisms plays a critical role. In fermentation, microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds are mixed with ingredients that provide them with food. As they digest this food, the organisms produce two critical by-products, carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. In beer making, yeast cells break down starch and sugar (present in cereal grains) to form alcohol; the froth, or head, of the beer results from the carbon dioxide gas that the cells produce. In simple terms, the living cells rearrange chemical elements to form new products that they need to live and reproduce. By happy coincidence, in the process of doing so, they help make a popular beverage. Bread baking is also dependent on the action of yeast cells. The bread dough contains nutrients that these cells digest for their own sustenance. The digestion process generates alcohol (which contributes to that wonderful aroma of baking bread) and carbon dioxide gas (which makes the dough rise and forms the honeycomb texture of the baked loaf). Discovery of the fermentation process allowed early peoples to produce foods by allowing live organisms to act on other ingredients. But our ancestors also found that, by manipulating the conditions under which the fermentation took place, they could improve both the quality and the yield of the ingredients themselves. Crop Improvement Although plant science is a relatively modern discipline, its fundamental techniques have been applied throughout human history. When early man went through the crucial transition from nomadic hunter to settled farmer, cultivated crops became vital for survival. These primitive farmers, although ignorant of the natural principles at work, found that they could increase the yield and improve the taste of crops by selecting seeds from particularly desirable plants
Farmers long ago noted that they coud improve each year's harvest by using seed from only the best plants of the current crop Plants that,for example,gave the highest yield,stayed the healthiest during periods of drought or disease.or were easiest to harvest tended to produce future generations with these same characteristics.Through several years of careful seed selection.farmers could maintain and strengthen such desirable traits. The possibilities for improving plants expanded as a result of Gregor Mendel's investigations in the mid-1860s of hereditary traits in peas.Once the genetic basis of heredity was understood,the benefitsof cross-breeding.or hybridization,became apparent:plants with different desirable traits could be used to cultivate a later generation that combined these characteristics. An understanding of the scientific principles behind fermentation and crop improvement practices has come only in the last hundred years.But the early,crude techniques,even without the benefit of sophisticated laboratories and automated equipment,were a true practice of bitechnology guiding natural processes to improve man's physical and economic well-being Harnessing Microbes for Health Every student of chemistry knows the shape of a Buchner funnel,but they may be unaware that the distinguished German ientist it was named after made the vital discovery (in 1897)that enzymes extracted from yeast are effective in converting sugar into alcohol.Major outbreaks of disease in overerowded industrial cities led eventually to the introduction,in the early years of the present century, of large-scale sewage purification systems based on microbial activity.By this time it had proved possible to generate certain key industrial chemicals(glycerol,acetone,and butanol)using bacteria. Another major beneficial legacy of early 20th century biotechnology was the discovery by Alexander Fleming (in 1928)of penicillin,an antibiotic derived from the mold Penicillium.Large-scale production of penicillin was achieved in the 1940s.However,the revolution in understanding the chemical basis of cell function that stemmed from the post-war emergence of molecular biology was still to come.It was this exciting phase of bioscience that led to the recent explosive development of biotechnology. 4
4 Farmers long ago noted that they could improve each succeeding year's harvest by using seed from only the best plants of the current crop. Plants that, for example, gave the highest yield, stayed the healthiest during periods of drought or disease, or were easiest to harvest tended to produce future generations with these same characteristics. Through several years of careful seed selection, farmers could maintain and strengthen such desirable traits. The possibilities for improving plants expanded as a result of Gregor Mendel's investigations in the mid-1860s of hereditary traits in peas. Once the genetic basis of heredity was understood, the benefits of cross-breeding, or hybridization, became apparent: plants with different desirable traits could be used to cultivate a later generation that combined these characteristics. An understanding of the scientific principles behind fermentation and crop improvement practices has come only in the last hundred years. But the early, crude techniques, even without the benefit of sophisticated laboratories and automated equipment, were a true practice of biotechnology guiding natural processes to improve man's physical and economic well-being. Harnessing Microbes for Health Every student of chemistry knows the shape of a Buchner funnel, but they may be unaware that the distinguished German scientist it was named after made the vital discovery (in 1897) that enzymes extracted from yeast are effective in converting sugar into alcohol. Major outbreaks of disease in overcrowded industrial cities led eventually to the introduction, in the early years of the present century, of large-scale sewage purification systems based on microbial activity. By this time it had proved possible to generate certain key industrial chemicals (glycerol, acetone, and butanol) using bacteria. Another major beneficial legacy of early 20th century biotechnology was the discovery by Alexander Fleming (in 1928) of penicillin, an antibiotic derived from the mold Penicillium. Large-scale production of penicillin was achieved in the 1940s. However, the revolution in understanding the chemical basis of cell function that stemmed from the post-war emergence of molecular biology was still to come. It was this exciting phase of bioscience that led to the recent explosive development of biotechnology