Applications of Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture - Term Paper Example

Applications of Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture Number INTRODUCTION Biotechnology has been defined over the years in a myriad of ways. It is basically the use of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents and systems to provide goods and services. Goods include those such as foodstuff, beverages, pharmaceuticals, biochemical mining of metals and so on whereas a few relevant examples can be applications in ventures such as water purification, waste management among others. Biotechnology uses living organisms and their parts to make/ modify products, improve plants and animals and engineer microbes for desired purposes (Arora, 2007). Biotechnology can be broadly categorized into two – traditional biotechnology and modern biotechnology. Traditional biotechnology generally refers to the practices that have been there since the beginning of history records. These include such practices as milk fermentation, , wine making, beer brewing from various raw materials and so on. Modern biotechnology on the other hand encompasses a more recent employment of the knowledge amassed from molecular biology into the art of biotechnology. These include such things as recombinant DNA or genetic engineering such as to yield transgenic crops like maize, barley, wheat, tomato, tobacco, soybean, cotton and so on (Lerner, 2012). APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE Biotechnology is a very useful field in the modern world and with new technologies still emerging the sky is certainly the limit. There are various other fields yet to be explored. Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary subject linked to numerous other fields such as chemical engineering, protein engineering, in vitro cell cultivation, biophysics, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, microbiology, human/ plant / animal philosophy and molecular cell biology.. this therefore renders the subject highly applicable in a plethora of human endeavors. Of particular interest are food and agriculture and how biotechnology has influenced and continues to influence matters therein (Smith, 2004). BIOTECHNOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE Agriculture has been one of the fields most influenced and impacted on by developments in biotechnology with numerous applications stemming forth. For one, biotechnology has been useful in the production of virus/ disease free plants. Much of the concepts in biotechnology have been used in agriculture to come up with low cost disease free planting materials. The culture of single cells and meristems can be effectively used to eradicate pathogen from planting material and thereby dramatically improve the yield of established cultivars. The infected plants are readily identified since the pathogen grows in the media in in-vitro cultures and can be isolated as contaminants. Certain techniques such as meristem tip culture may be used to produce clean planting materials from stocks with viruses, such as bananas, potatoes and several soft fruit species (Arora, 2007). Secondly, biotechnology has been successfully applied in agriculture in in-vitro rapid micro-propagation of crop plants. Plant tissue culture can be used for fast commercial in vitro micro-propagation of crop plants and can be used to produce large numbers of clone plants for a particular market like in maize, bananas, Irish potatoes, cassava, coffee and pyrethrum. This can be used when a new variety is grown and other methods of cultivation are too slow for the intended market. Cells from plants with desirable traits can be cloned to produce many identical cells which can be used to produce whole plants (Smith, 2004). In germplasm conservation, biotechnology has been handy in the conservation of useful genetic resources in less vulnerable environments of liquid nitrogen at -196̊C such as in strawberry, grapes, apples and peaches. At this co9ndition there is complete cessation of cell division with minimal damage to plant tissues which ensures variability when the plant is regenerated. Cryopreservation provides long-term genetic resource conservation for application in the future genetic engiuneering of plant biotechnology. Germplasm can also be conserved by use of slow growth cultures at low temperatures of 4-9̊C or by using silver nitrate as in cassava (Smith, 2004). Biotechnology has also been applied in agriculture in embryo rescue. In spite of successful pollination and fertilization, the embryos fail to develop so that no mature seed is produced. This menace can be tackled if young hybrid embryos are excised and cultured on a synthetic medium. These cultured embryos can directly develop/ differentiating into young seedlings. This method of growing immature embryos is called embryo rescue and is useful in hybridization, breaking dormancy of seeds and to attain complete growth of embryo into plant (Lerner, 2012). Of notable significance is the application of biotechnology to elicit crop improvements and increase production. These improved crops require very little production and maintenance costs yet result in very good harvests. Conventional breeding takes several years to reach the market. However, biotechnological methods such as the use of tissue culture techniques like somaclonal variations and genetic engineering have an ever increasing impact on crop improvement by complementing conventional breeding. Tissue culture, for instance, can be explored to evoke somaclonal variations (genetic variability) from which crop plants can be improved. Apart from enhancing the state of health of the planted material, the technique also causes resistance to drought, pests, diseases and a general ability to grow in mean and unfavorable circumstances/ environments. These are genetically modified crops/ GM crops/ biotech crops and they strive at attaining traits that would be otherwise inexistent naturally (Ouellette & Cheremisinoff, 1985). Some of the characteristics of transgenic crops also include resistance to a herbicide so that its application only selects for the particular targeted weed in the field, reduction of spoilage, improving crop nutrient profiles, and so on. Crops such as soybean, corn, canola and cotton seed oil, for example, have since been genetically manipulated to elicit resistance to pathogen and herbicides and further enhance their nutrient profiles (Somani, 2005). Moreover, there are institutions and agencies whose works are aimed at ensuring that crops produced via biotechnology are safe for farmers to use, safe to consume as food/ feed and are not injurious to the environment. The use of biotechnology in agriculture across the globe has considerably increased with surveys showing that in North America alone, 88% of the corn, 94% of cotton and 95% of soybean planted are of species that have been derived from genetic engineering (are transgenic plants). Other species of crops such as papaya, sugar beet and alfalfa have also been obtained from such technologies (Smith, 2004). In essence, using technologies such as gene modification (manipulation) and transfer, development of recombinant vaccines and DNA centered techniques of disease characterization and diagnosis, embryo transfer, use of molecular markers, in vitro vegetative propagation of plants and reproductive techniques in plants and animals, biotechnology has seen to increased agricultural control, yield and efficiency where large harvests can be realized in the shortest time possible. In addition, techniques in biotechnology ensure that crops produced are of good quality, are safe and have good consistency (Ouellette & Cheremisinoff, 1985). BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD Biotechnology has equally played significant roles in shaping the global food industry. For one, it does not hurt the brain for one to relate that if indeed biotechnology has had such tremendous effects on contemporary agriculture then it will inevitably equally improve the food sector as a whole. Agriculture and food are one and the same. As originally stated, biotechnology and its applications in agriculture have meant low costs of production for farmers in the field, early harvests (with increased crop maturity rates from genetic engineering) and big, quality harvests (Somani, 2005). In the end, many now regard agriculture as a more profitable venture than it previously was therefore increasing the number of participants in commercial farming. Increased crop productions have also resulted in lower food prices and with steady supplies of foodstuff, the world continues to enjoy food security because of biotechnology. This has been beneficial especially in the 3rd world where food security has been an issue since time immemorial. Furthermore, increased food quality means that mankind can now enjoy a wide variety of healthy foods and so live healthy, wholesome lifestyles. In 2005 alone, it is documented that over 200 nations produced transgenic crops such as soybean, cotton, papaya, corn, canola and squash in about 250 million acres of land (Lerner, 2012). Biotechnological fermentation processes continue to yield various foodstuff in industries such as fermented milk products (yoghurt, cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, kefir), alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, cider, vinegar, soy, bread and other bakery products(alcoholic fermentation), candy, fruit juice, fermented meats, fermented vegetables (sauerkraut), flavorings, spillage, pickles (from fermented cucumbers), and so on (Somani, 2005). There are a plethora of benefits accrued from the use of fermentation in food processing. Fermentation increases the shelf life of foods by prohibiting the enzymatic deterioration of plant tissues and also helps foods be stored safely. Fermentation additionally improves dough handling characteristics of bread by softening the gluten proteins. The process also enhances the texture, flavor and odor of foods and allows humans enjoy foods in various ways by creating these differences in foodstuffs. Through fermentation, the vitamin content and digestibility of foods can be improved with toxicity of certain foods significantly reduced (Arora, 2007). References Arora, M., & Kanta, C. (2007). Biotechnology (Rev. ed.). Mumbai: Himalaya Pub. House. Top of FBottom of Form Lerner, B. (2012). Biotechnology. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning. Top of FBottom of Form Lewis, C. (2007). Biotechnology. Chandni Chowk, Delhi: Global MediaTop of FormBottom of Form Ouellette, R., & Cheremisinoff, P. (1985). Applications of biotechnology. Lancaster, Pa.: Technomic Pub.Top of FormBottom of Form Smith, J. (2004). Biotechnology (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Top of FormBottom of Form Somani, V. (2005). Biotechnology. Jaipur, India: ABD. Read More