History of
Biotechnology

Stages of Biotech
Ancient
Classical
Modern

Ancient Biotech
Begins with early
civilization
Developments in ag and
food production
Few records exist

Ancient Biotech
Archeologists research
Ancient carvings and
sketches sources of
information

Classical Biotech
Follows ancient
Makes wide spread use of
methods from ancient,
especially fermentation
Methods adapted to
industrial production

Classical Biotech
Produce large quantities of
food products and other
materials in short amount of
time
Meet demands of increasing
population

Classical Biotech
Many methods developed
through classical biotech
are widely used today.

Modern Biotech
Manipulation of genetic
material within organisms
Based on genetics and the
use of microscopy,
biochemical methods,
related sciences and
technologies

Modern Biotech
Often known as genetic
engineering
Roots involved the
investigation of genes

Ancient Biotech
Not known when biotech
began exactly
Focused on having food
and other human needs

Ancient Biotech
Useful plants brought from
the wild, planted near caves
where people lived
As food wasavailable, ability
to store and preserve
emerged

Ancient
Food preservation most
likely came from
unplanned events such as
a fire or freeze

Domestication
15,000 years ago, large
animals were hard to capture
People only had meat when
they found a dead animal
Came up with ways of
capturing fish and small
animals

Domestication
Food supplies often
seasonal
Winter food supplies may
get quite low
Domestication is seen by
scientists as the beginning of
biotech

Domestication
Adaptation of organisms
so they can be cultured
Most likely began 11,000
– 12,000 years ago in the
middle east

Domestication
Involved the collecting of
seed from useful plants and
growing crude crops from
that seed
Involved the knowledge that
the seed had to properly
mature

Domestication
Proper planting
Need for water, light and
other conditions for plant
growth
Earliest plants likely grains
and other seeds used for
food

Domestication
Raising animals in captivity
began about the same time
in history
Easier to have an animal
close by that to hunt and
capture a wild one

Domestication
Learned that animals
need food and water
Learned about simple
breeding
How to raise young

Domestication
Cattle, goats and sheep
were the first
domesticated food animals

Domestication
About 10,000 years ago,
people had learned enough
about plants and animals to
grow their own food
The beginning of farming.

Food
Domestication resulted in
food supplies being greater
in certain times of the year
Products were gathered and
stored

Food
Some foods rotted
Others changed form and
continued to be good to eat
Foods stored in a cool cave
did not spoil as quickly

Food
Foods heated by fire also
did not spoil as quickly
Immersing in sour liquids
prevented food decay

Food preservation
Using processes that
prevent or slow spoilage
Heating, cooling, keeps
microorganisms (mo’s)
from growing

Food preservation
Stored in bags of leather or jars
of clay
Fermentation occurs if certain
mo’s are present
Creates an acid condition that
slows or prevents spoilage

Cheese
One of the first food
products made through
biotechnology
Began some 4,000 years
ago
Nomadic tribes in Asia

Cheese
Strains of bacteria were
added to milk
Caused acid to form
Resulting in sour milk

Cheese
Enzyme called “rennet” was
added
Rennet comes from the
lining of the stomachs of
calves

Cheese
Rennet is genetically
engineered today
Not all cheese is made from
produced rennet

Yeast
Long used in food
preparation and preservation
Bread baking
Yeast produces a gas in the
dough causing the dough to
rise

Yeast
Fermented products
Vinegar
Require the use of yeast in
at least one stage of
production

Yeast
Species of fungi
Some are useful
Some may cause diseases

Vinegar
Ancient product used to
preserve food
Juices and extracts from
fruits and grains can be
fermented

Fermentation
Process in which yeast
enzymes chemically change
compounds into alcohol
In making vinegar the first
product of fermentation is
alcohol

Fermentation
Alcohol is converted to acetic
acid by additional microbe
activity
Acid gives vinegar a sour taste
Vinegar prevents growth of
some bacteria

Vinegar
Keeps foods from spoiling
Used in pickling
Biblical references to wine
indicate the use of
fermentation some 3,000
years ago

Fermentation control
In ancient times, likely
happened by accident
Advancements occurred in
the 1800’s and early 1900’s

Fermenters
Used to advance
fermentation process
Specially designed chamber
that promotes fermentation

Fermenters
Allowed better control,
especially with vinegar
New products such as
glycerol, acetone, and citric
acid resulted

Development
Of yeasts that were
predictable and readily
available led to modern
baking industry

Antibiotics
Use of fermentation
hastened the development of
antibiotics
A drug used to combat
bacterial infections

Antibiotics
Penicillin
Developed in the late1920’s
Introduced in the 1940’s
First drug produced
by microbes

Antibiotics
Many kinds available today
Limitations in their use keep
disease producing
organisms from developing
immunity to antibiotics

Antibiotics
Use antibiotics only when
needed.
Overuse may make the
antibiotic ineffective when
really needed later

Antibiotics
Some disease organisms
are now resistant to certain
antibiotics
Used in both human and vet
medicine

Modern Biotech
Deals with manipulating genetic
info
Microscopy and advanced
computer technology are used
In-depth knowledge of science

Modern Biotech
Based on genetics research
from the mid 1800’s

Genetics
Study of heredity
Most work has focused on
animal and plant genetics
Genes – determiners of
heredity

Genes
Carry the genetic code
Understanding genetic
structure essential for
genetic engineering

Heredity
How traits are passed from
parents to offspring
Members of the same
species pass the
characteristics of that
species

Heredity
Differences exist within each
species.
Differences are known as
variability

Heredity &variability
Are used in modern
biotechnology

Modern Biotech
Use of biotech to produce
new life forms
Emerged in mid 1900’s
Made possible by rDNA
technology

rDNA
Recombinant DNA Process
Genetic material is moved
from one organism to
another
Materials involved are quite
small

rDNA
Challenging and often
controversial
Many have opposing or
negative views of
biotechnolgy

People in Biotech
Zacharias Janssen
Discovered the principle of
the compound microscope in
1590
Dutch eye glass maker

Anton Van
Leeuwenhoek
Developed single lens
microscope in 1670’s
First to observe tiny
organisms and document
observations

Anton V.L.
Work led to modern
microscopes
Electron microscope
developed in 1931 by group
of German scientists

Gregor Mendel
Formulated basic laws of
heredity during mid 1800’s
Austrian Botanist and monk
Experimented with peas

Mendel
Studied inheritance of seven
pairs of traits
Bred and crossbred thousands
of plants
Determined that some traits
were dominant and other
recessive

Mendel
Findings were published in
1866
Largely ignored for 34 years

Johan Friedrich
Miescher
Swiss Biologist
Isolated nuclei of white blood
cells in 1869
Led to identification of
nucleic acid by Walter
Flemming

Walter Sutton
Determined in 1903 that
chromosomes carried units of
heredity identified by Mendel
Named “genes” in 1909 by
Wilhelm Johannsen, Danish
Botanist

Thomas Hunt Morgan
Studied genetics of fruit flies
Early 1900’s
Experimented with eye color
His work contributed to the
knowledge of X and Y
chromosomes

Thomas Hunt Morgan
Nobel Peace Prize in 1933
for research in gene theory

Ernst Ruska
Build the first electron
microscope in 1932
German electrical engineer
Microscope offered 400X
magnification

Alexander Fleming
Discovered penicillin in 1928
First antibiotic drug used in
treating human disease
Observed growth of molds
(Penicillium genus) in a dish
that also contracted bacteria

Alexander Fleming
Bacteria close to the molds
were dead
Extracting and purifying the
molds took a decade of
research
Penicillin first used in 1941

Alexander Fleming
Penicillin credited with
saving many lives during
WWII when wounded
soldiers developed
infections.

Rosalind Elsie Franklin
Research in France and
England in mid 1900’s
Led to discovery of structure
of DNA
Her early research was used
to produce an atomic bomb

Rosalind Franklin
Set up X ray diffraction lab
Photographs of DNA
showed that it could have a
double helix structure

Rosalind Franklin
Some questions surround
the theft of her work in 1952
Including x ray photographs

Watson and Crick
James Watson
Francis Crick
Collaborated to produce the
first model of DNA structure
in 1953

Watson and Crick
Described DNA dimensions
and spacing of base pairs
Had major impact on genetic
engineering carried out today

Watson
Born in the US
Crick – born in England
Collaborative research at
Cambridge University in
England

Norman E. Borlaug
Developed wheat varieties
producing high yields
Research in Mexico
Semi dwarf varieties
Developed wheat variety that would
grow in climates where other
varieties would not

Borlaug
Nobel Peace Prize in 1971
Credited with helping relieve
widespread hunger in some
nations

Mary Clare King
Research into nature of DNA
during late 1900’s
Determined that 99% of
human DNA is identical to
chimpanzee

Mary Clare King
1975 found similar gene
pools between humans and
chimpanzee made it possible
to research hereditary
causes of breast cancer

Ian Wilmut
Cloning of a sheep named
Dolly in 1997
Produced from tissue of an
adult sheep
Previous cloning efforts had
been from early embryos

Research
Use of systematic methods
to answer questions.
Problems may be basic or
applied

Basic
Require generating new info
to gain understanding
Applied – involve use of
knowledge already acquired.

Research
Supplies facts that can be
used to improve a process or
product
Settings range from
elaborate labs to field plots

Field Plot
Small area of land that is
used to test questions or
hypothesis
Belief is that same result
would be obtained if carried
out on larger scale

Field Plots
Often tested several times
Known as replication

Research
Done by agencies, universities,
private companies, individuals
Biotech research in ag is
carried out by ag experiment
stations and large corporations

Development
Creation of new products or
methods based on findings
of research
Carefully studied before
being put into full scale use

Development
New products tested before
approval
Government agencies such as
the FDA are involved
Prototype is developed –
research model that is carefully
tested

Prototype
Becomes a pattern for the
production of similar
products
After being fully tested, full
scale production begins.