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Biotechnology Career options I am now convinced that what began as biotechnology bandwagon some fifteen years ago has developed some valuable new scientific methodologies and products which need active financial and organizational support to bring them to fruition in food and fibre production systems. Norman E Borlaug
What is Biotechnology?
It is difficult to define Biotechnology as a specific sector or industry. The conventional definition of biotechnology includes work on processes and products at sub-organism levels (tissue, cell and molecule). Some would even identify biotechnology exclusively with genetic engineering. A much widely accepted definition is "Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. When interpreted broadly, biotechnology can therefore include traditional methods, for example in improving domesticated plants and animals by breeding; utilizing micro-organisms for food and beverage processing, and disease control through inoculation; and biological control of pests”.
Scope
The tools of biotechnology offer both a challenge and tremendous opportunity for growth and development of mankind. These new technologies complement rather than replace the traditional methods used to enhance productivity. The biotechnology era is ushered in with the breakthrough, which made possible the identification of genes, the random insertion of genomic sequences and their subsequent manipulation to suit to the specific needs. The methods of biotechnology have now been successfully applied for development in the areas of health, industry, agriculture, animal husbandry, energy and environment. However, from traditional and conventional breeders to molecular biologists alike now generally accept that biotechnology could bring a new revolution i.e., biorevolution for alleviating poverty and hunger.
In summary, biotechnology will vastly expand the range of choices in research and it offers the prospect for advances in a wide range of areas that would be beneficial to the society. However, with limited financial resources, choices have to be made on which line of research to pursue or which gene to transfer. This involves both technical and socio-economic considerations and often even ethical consideration.
Major Achievements in Biotechnology
Over the last decade, using the tools of biotechnology, scientists’ ability to alter the traits of plants and animals by moving genes from one organism to another has greatly improved. Scientists have used this technology to create crops that benefit farmers, such as corn and cotton capable of fending off destructive pests and soybeans resistant to chemical herbicides. Today, agricultural biotechnology researchers are developing new products that will offer better solutions to traditional agricultural problems by making food production easier. Some of the achievements made in agricultural biotechnology include: modifying corn to contain the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) pesticide, thus building in resistance to European Corn Borer; modifying crops to resist commercial herbicides, modifying plants enabling them to survive in drought and developing food products with improved quality and nutritional values such as canola oil with more nutrients like lutein that may help prevent eye disease; soybean oil with 80 percent more oleic acid, one third less saturated fatty acid; beans with characteristics that are more suitable for processing and canning, such as firmer texture and seed coats that do not split; meeting needs for fiber, fuel and other products by increasing the efficiency of pulp production from trees; modifying fatty acids and oils for paints and manufacturers creating plastics from corn for use in consumer packing, introducing pigment producing genes to make flowers bloom in colours not possible through other breeding methods and modifying the plants and animals through genetic engineering to make products with medical applications like plant based edible vaccines for Hepatitis B, Travelers diarrohoea and Tooth decay; human proteins produced in plants for therapeutic use. Also, significant research on human, plant and animal genomics will likely to lead to new applications.
Coming to the commercialization of biotechnologies, while some applications such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance are already in the market and widely used, others may be a decade or more away. Certain uses of biotechnology particularly those that improve agricultural production, have been on a “fast track’ for commercialization. Other applications, such as enhancing the nutritive value of food are the subject of active research and development. But many years of testing and government approval await other possible applications. Using bioengineering, scientists have added or modified nutrients in various crops and created several nutritionally enhanced products. However, commercial production and acceptance are still years away. Examples of these include adding iron to rice or increasing beta-carotene and vitamin E in vegetable oils to boost the nutritional value. Two genetic modification strategies have also been devised to increase the iron levels in cereal crops. One is the introduction of the gene that encodes for ferretin, an iron-storage protein. Over expression of this gene improves the storage capacity of plants by as much as three fold. Using this and other technology rice was engineered to contain beta-carotene, which it normally lacks and enhanced iron content. This transgenic golden rice has yet to be bred into hybrid and native strains. So field-testing of modified local varieties, commercial production and acceptance are still years away.
In addition, some biotechnology products might be technically feasible in the lab, such as plants that can grow plastic but may not be economically feasible to bring to the market. It is not just science but also the market place that will ultimately determine which biotechnological applications are successfully commercialized. Whether today’s research projects become tomorrow’s products depends on many factors that are not considered by the technology per se - like social, ethical, political, regulatory, legal, environmental and economic which need to be debated. However, before drawing any conclusions on the technology’s potential in solving much broader challenge like food, health and environmental security as a society in our respective roles as consumers, regulators, producers, commentators and shareholders should understand where the technology is pointed.
Biotechnology and Food Security
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations defines ‘food security’ as a state of affairs where all people at all times have access to safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. A number of quantitative estimates on future world food security have been made by reputed international organizations like the FAO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), etc. All these estimates suggest that by 2020 world population is going to be around 8.5 billion and a large share of this increase will be from developing countries. Estimated increase of more than 90 million people a year will be the largest in human history. It has been predicted that by the year 2020 developing countries like China and India will have to import large quantities of food to meet their food requirements. In August 1999, India’s population reached 1 billion, and by 2035 India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country. Today an estimated 350 million out of 1 billion Indians fall below the poverty line. While India claims self-sufficiency in production of food grains, two thirds of Indian children under age five are malnourished. Infant mortality is 65 per 1,000 live births, compared with 33 for China. Adult literacy rates of 65 per cent for men and 38 per cent for women fall far short of China --- 90 per cent for men and 73 per cent for women.
It has also been anticipated that while the demand for food will increase, the potential for meeting the demand will decrease. There will be pressure on land and water causing ecological imbalances. Food production is also constrained by increased biotic and abiotic stresses. It is against this background of continuing population growth, and accelerating urbanization, increasing poverty, increasing pressure on the social fabric and the environment that the question of whether food security can be achieved in future is posed. The existing technologies do not seem to be adequate to face this challenge. This requires seeking alternative and new technologies. Among such new tools, biotechnology occupies a place of pride.
Biotechnology in INDIA
Government of India made substantial efforts in biotechnology through Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Realizing the critical role of biotechnology in economic development DBT initiated a number of measures. The Department for instance, intensified its efforts in strengthening the infrastructures and the inter-relationships between public funded institutions, academia and industry to hasten the conversion of research findings into products, processes and technologies. The thrust of biotechnology is in the sectors of agriculture, health, environment and industrial development. While considerable progress has been made in creating capacities by way of infrastructure development through establishment of number of Centres for Plant Molecular Biology, tissue culture and micropropagation, etc the current emphasis is to consolidate and utilize the existing infrastructure for promoting all aspects of biotechnology research and application.
Major breakthroughs were achieved with respect to transgenics in rice, Brassica, moongbean, pigeonpea, cotton, potato, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. While some of them are ready for field assessment some would go for large-scale seed production very soon. Nutritionally enhanced potato and Bt cotton are among the important ones. In wheat transgenics with more protein content and better quality and also higher lysine content and marker assisted breeding programme is expected to be introduced in farmers’ field. The sequencing of chromosome 11 in rice is a part of contribution to international rice genome project. Work on edible vaccines, particularly for cholera, rabies and hepatitis- B is already under progress and the products with an expression gene in tomato, cabbage and banana would be ready for critical trials soon. In addition to the research and development activities, some innovative programmes exclusively to encourage women entrepreneurs and under privileged classes were initiated. It is gratifying to note that the state of Andhra Pradesh also has taken a leading role in creating enabling conditions for the rapid growth of this promising technology. Andhra Pradesh is one of the few States to have formulated a distinct policy on biotechnology. A Biotech Park with modern facilities has come near Hyderabad in partnership with private sector. Similar such parks are expected to come up in other districts also in future. Through this, the Government of Andhra Pradesh intends to provide high quality infrastructure at a reasonable cost with integrated services to biotech manufacturing units. Keeping in view the special difficulties and risks involved in commercializing these cutting-edge technologies, Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced a number of incentives. They are expected to bear fruits in the coming years. With excellent institutional infrastructure in and around Hyderabad, with the presence of strong scientific manpower and enterprising farmers, Andhra Pradesh has a potential to emerge as strong base for advancements in agricultural biotechnology.
Human Resource Development in Biotechnology
Human resources are the key to success to the success of biotechnology enterprise. By now it is understood beyond doubt that academic and industrial competitiveness in biotechnology depends upon adequately trained scientific and technical personnel. The degree of sophistication of R&D personnel with respect to the state of art in biotechnology will be a major factor determining the success of biotechnology. High technology firms of the USA have consistently ranked ‘quality of education’ and ‘availability of skilled work force’ as among the most crucial elements for success in biotechnology. It is also, by now clear that biotechnology is not a single discipline but an interdisciplinary activity applying principles of several disciplines of science and engineering for production of goods and services. Hence, the type of manpower needed for achieving successful commercialization is not dependent on skills in biotechnology as such –but abilities, knowledge and skills in a variety of disciplines contributing to it such as – microbiology, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, cell biology, tissue culture, biochemical and chemical engineering, computer modeling, etc.
In India, the human resource in biotechnology is sourced from universities, educational and research institutions. At junior levels, typically the scientific resources are post graduates (M.Sc, M.Tech, M.Pharm etc.) in microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology, biochemical engineering etc. from various Indian universities and educational institutions. At mid and senior levels, organizations look for wide ranging and in-depth scientific experience, which have specialized in specific areas of relevance, within the above domains and are willing to search for suitable talent from across the globe. Thus, biotechnology as a subject in modern education has found a place in almost all Indian universities. However, managing and motivating the scientific human resources are critical factors in the success of biotechnology. Our education system must focus on overhauling its programmes in biotechnology towards analytical learning, experimental problem solving, data interpretation and scientific visioning. Training and education programmes must address scientific needs at different levels. Formal and informal education and vocational training programmes in biotechnology might go a long way in creating capacities in biotechnology.
To conclude, biotechnology has vast and enormous scope in meeting the needs of society if only it harnesses and invests in the areas of human and natural resources.
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