Several transgenic plants have been developed. One such plant is Bt cotton in which the Bt toxin has been used as a biological insecticide. The bacterium-Bacillus thuringiensis is common soil bacteria which produces a protein toxin that kills certain insects. Bt toxin gene was isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis and was incorporated into several crops plants such as cotton. Bt cotton is resistant to insect but is not pesticide resistant.

a bacterial gene expressing system

Bt cotton is not

Notes on Applications of Biotechnology

Concepts Used:

Applications of Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the technology that utilizes biological systems, living organisms, or parts of this to develop or create different products.

For example, brewing and baking bread fall within the concept of biotechnology (use of yeast (= living organism) to produce the desired product).

Agriculture

Alternative to conventional farming: A possible solution is the use of genetically modified crops which is an alternative path to conventional farming.

Medicine

In the area of healthcare, recombinant DNA technological processes have made an immense impact which enables the mass production of safe and more effective therapeutic drugs.

Gene Therapy

A collection of methods that allows the correction of a gene defect that has been diagnosed in a child/embryo is called Gene Therapy.

CRISPR technology

For editing genomes, CRISPR is a simple yet powerful tool which allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function.