Biotechnology and food Security

The official definition of food security adopted at the World Food Summit in 1996, said: "Food security exists when all people at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, healthy and nutritious food to meet their needs dietary and food preferences for an active and healthy life. "

The thrust of food security is to achieve a significant increase in agricultural production in a sustainable way and achieve a substantial improvement of people's right to adequate food and culturally appropriate food supply. The underlying assumption is that the means to increase food supplies in many countries exist but are not realized due to a number of constraints. During the identification and resolution of these constraints, we must find ways to improve in a sustainable manner and reduce the variability from year to year in food production and pave the way for greater access to food.

The causes of food insecurity involves a complex interaction of economic, social, political and technical. The problem for some communities, it can produce enough food. For others, lack of money to buy a bigger choice of food is the problem. Food insecurity and poverty are strongly correlated. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), defines poverty as a deficit of three levels: the lack of safety, capacity and opportunities. Poverty is the main cause of food insecurity and food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition to prevent people from acquiring skills and reduce their productivity. The delay of agricultural productivity is closely associated with rural poverty and hunger. Food insecurity is still a reality for vulnerable people in all societies and in all countries, developed and developing countries.

In developed countries, the problem of food security is often a reflection of the affordability and accessibility, through traditional channels. The food security of rural poor in developing countries is to produce or obtain enough food to feed his family and able to maintain this level of production year after year ..

Challenges for Food Safety According to one estimate, in developing countries, some 800 million undernourished people, including a large proportion living on less than $ 1 a day, despite a drop of over 50% of product prices food world in recent years. world food production has exploded, making a variety of food available to all consumers. Despite the drop in food prices in developed countries has benefited the poor who spend a considerable part of their income on food, this trend has not had much impact on most developing countries, with the 'darker paint SSA' s image.

In addition, agricultural production has stagnated for a considerable period of time or just managed to achieve a significant growth. E 'in this context that the search for solutions to declining crop yields requires an effort that improves the heritage upon which agriculture, in particular, soil, water and biodiversity. Transform farmers in farming systems by introducing new technologies, including tools and techniques of biotechnology processes that integrate agro-ecological food production, minimizing negative effects on the environment, is essential for sustainable agriculture. In addition, increasing the crops must be met to use the technology locally at low cost and minimal inputs without causing environmental damage.

E 'in this context that biotechnology can only come from a rescue deal with international food. Introduction of genetically modified high-performance, fire techniques such as gene transfer, tissue culture, etc. are intended to help scientists achieve results with minimal social and economic costs.

Environmental Biotechnology

Environmental biotechnology is the use of living organisms for a wide range of applications in hazardous waste treatment and pollution control. For example, a fungus is used for cleaning a harmful substance discharged by the paper industry. Marine biotechnologists are studying ways that bacteria can detoxify the estuaries of materials such as brines Wed chemicals that cause environmental problems in many industries.

Environmental biotechnology can effectively clean many hazardous waste than conventional methods and significantly reduce our dependence on methods of cleaning the waste, as incineration or hazardous waste sites. This technology can be an advantage for a number of developing countries that face a recurring problem of finding effective ways to treat their waste per day.

How does it work?
Using biotechnology to treat pollution problems is not a new idea. Communities have relied on complex populations of naturally occurring microbes for the treatment of waste water for more than a century. Every living organism, animals, plants, bacteria and so on, ingests nutrients to live and produces a by-product stream as a result. different organisms need different types of nutrients. Some bacteria grow on the chemical components of waste. Some microorganisms, for example, feed on toxic materials such as methylene chloride, detergents and creosote.

Businesses that benefit

• The chemical industry
The use of biocatalysts for the production of novel compounds, reduce wastes and improve chemical purity.

• The plastics industry:
Decreased use of oil for the production of plastic, making "green plastics" from renewable crops like corn or soybeans.

• The paper industry:
Improve production processes, including the use of enzymes to reduce toxic byproducts from pulp.

• The textile industry:
Decreasing toxic byproducts of dead tissue and finishing. laundry detergents are becoming more efficient with the addition of enzymes to their active ingredients.

• Food industry:
Improving the cooking process, the conservatives derived from fermentation and analytical techniques for food safety.

• The livestock sector:
Adding enzymes to improve absorption of nutrients and reduce phosphate products.

• The energy sector:
Use of enzymes for making biofuels and non-polluting agricultural waste.

Biotechnology in Food- Risk Assessment

Probably not a discovery in the field of green biotechnology was in such a short time, far-reaching consequences on agriculture, as the method described in 1983 for the genetic modification of plants through genetic engineering. In 2005, these GM varieties account for 60% of the soybean crop in the world, 14% corn, 28% cotton and 18% of rape between 2003 and 2005, the overall increase in housing throughout the world intended to GM crops was 33%. This clearly shows that the application of genetic engineering in agriculture has been a great economic success.

Genetic modification of crops have focused on producing varieties for cut crop losses due to insects and weeds. recent developments dealing with the protection against viral and fungal infections, increased tolerance to drought and salinity, the formation of male sterile plants for the generation of hybrid production, and improving the nutritional quality of crops and increasing the shelf-life of many perishable products like tomatoes, identifying the genes responsible for early maturation of the same.

Although the benefits of genetically modified organisms are numerous and more and more research is directed toward the field, the use of GMOs may pose risks to human health and development. Many genes used for GMOs in food supply have not been before. As new types of traditional food crops are generally not subject to a pre-market safety assessment, assessment of genetically modified foods are usually made before the first crops are marketed. It 'necessary to assess the risks to consider both intentional and unintentional effects of these foods in the food chain. GM foods are currently marketed in the international market have passed risk assessments in several countries and are not subject, and have been shown to pose risks to human health. But still there are many questions that must be handled with care.

The application of modern biotechnology to food production presents new opportunities and new challenges to human health and development. recombination, the most famous modern biotechnology, can plants, animals and micro-organisms genetically modified (GM) with new features beyond what is possible through the selection and conventional breeding techniques. E 'acknowledged that techniques such as cloning, tissue culture and marker-assisted breeding are often considered as modern biotechnology, in addition to the genetic modification.

The challenge of producing more food grains to feed a growing world population and reduce agricultural waste and increasing productivity with fewer resources has led companies to invest in GM crops and undertake new research in the field. The advantages are many encouraging results. What is needed is a concerted effort to allay fears.

Potential unintended effects of GM foods on human health

Effects of GMOs, such as increased levels of anti-nutritional or toxic components in foods have been found in conventional breeding. Agents traditional farming methods, including tissue culture, may be an option a bit 'better genetic imbalance. It is believed that the introduction of a new gene can lead to increased levels of toxicity or decreased level of nutritional value found in natural organisms. The impact assessment considered all factors it is important to avoid complications and problems of implementation of the post.

Agents and immune responses in allergy to genetically modified foods:
Food allergies or sensitivities are adverse reactions to foods triggered by the immune system. Allergic reactions to foods are well known. The main food allergens are proteins and derivatives, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews and walnuts) and wheat. Considering that the most important allergens are well known and advanced test methods have been developed, traditionally developed foods are not generally tested for allergens before they are marketed.

The application of modern biotechnology crops has the potential to make food less safe if the protein is newly added cause an allergic reaction, once the food supply. protocols for assessing the risk of food allergy consists of three: (1) Evaluation of allergenicity (either food or a potential cause of food allergy) exposure assessment (2) (How likely is it that people meet the agent that cause allergies), and (3) sensitivity analysis (such as people with allergies react to this new food.)

Monitoring of human health and the environment:
In the future, GM crops can have a wider recognition for the environmental release, with or without permission to enter the human food chain. In such situations, it is important to consider whether to apply the post-marketing surveillance for unexpected environmental spread of GMOs) that may pose a risk to food safety. Methods for detection of GMOs into the environment could cause the application of two well-established body of scientific method:
(1) DNA-based diagnostic marker
(2) appropriate sampling protocols (in terms of statistical power) and cost-effectiveness.

Although GM crops have tried to solve the problems of the most powerful men say to help the food security and reduce poverty, it is necessary to make an adequate assessment of all factors negative impact of GM crops can be considered. While many scientific studies are being prepared on this matter so that a series of guidelines and standards can be developed and followed by all. This requires a careful evaluation and respectful of the interests at stake and how to balance these often conflicting interests.

Indian Biotechnology Scenario- An analysis

According to a NASSCOM-KPMG study, the R & D and biotech industry will reach a turnover of 3 billion dollars by 2010 and the bioinformatics market will reach $ 2 billion. Indian companies have become suppliers of information to customers worldwide biotech. The sequencing of genes and dissemination of genomic information for drug companies is the size of the next boom industry. India has the potential to become one of the strengths of choice in the development and manufacture of genomic medicine with a good atmosphere and well-directed research efforts and initiatives. Currently, there are about 190 biotech companies in India. The scenario in India Biotech

India is a huge market for products based on biotechnology. However, most of these products are not developed here but are imported by domestic and foreign companies. According to the analysis of capitalmarket.com, the Indian biotech industry is expected to reach Rs 4,40,000 crore in 2020.

The current demand for biotech products in India, in terms of predicting and evaluating the Information Technology Council (TIFAC) report are: - The products of fermentation-based vaccines.

- DMA products and antibiotics among healthcare products.

- Alcohol, organic acids, enzymes, amino acids, yeast and other industrial products.

There were about 400 companies in India with activities related to biotechnology in 1995. This number has increased to about 850. India and biotechnology industry is small compared to its pharmaceutical industry (about 16,000 drug makers big and small). Biotech in India started in the mid-1980s and has focused in large national or multinational drug. In 1986, the Indian government established the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology. Many small biotechnology companies have been created since then.

The actors can be divided into the following companies:

- Contract Research Organizations: Sygen Labs, Biological E, Bangalore Genie, Avestha Gengraine etc.

- Biotechnology company that engages in basic research using recombinant DNA technology and develops and markets its products: like Shanta Biotech, Bharat Biotech & Biocon India.

- Wings biotech companies or subsidiaries of pharmaceutical / agro-technology, research on measurement using recombinant DNA technology: Lupin Labs, Wockhardt, RPG Life Sciences, Monsanto, Cadila Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Labs, etc.

- Companies that do not use recombinant DNA technology, but apply the principles of biotechnology: floriculture, tissue culture and society of industrial application of biotechnology industry such as enzymes, fermentation and bio-chemicals.

Biotechnology in Indian context

The biotechnology industry is the sunrise and perhaps one of the emerging economy of India's new generation, resulting in phenomenal growth in research initiatives and the creation of jobs. The broad base of intellectual capacity and skills are well developed, for R & D cost and benefit of all tend to make India as one of the most promising markets worldwide and offer great opportunities for companies and the ' industry to invest and reap the benefits thereof. The government is also trying hard to define and change the political framework in order to make India a dynamic center for research on bio-technology center and infrastructure development.

Biotechnology in India can be divided into three main areas - the pharmaceutical industry on improved health care, feed and pharmaceutical research, the agricultural sector leading to the introduction of new crops and to produce improved plants and industrial lead business creation and new economy industries.

The Indian biotech industry has core competencies in areas and sectors:

• The growth in fermentation products.
• Using parts of plants and animals to extract value-added products of high purity.
• The use of cell culture techniques and microbiological.
• The techniques of plant cultivation and animal breeding technology based on molecular methods.
• cultivation of plant cells / tissue, etc.
• The technology of DNA of plants and animals
• The isolation of plant and animal products.
• Bioprocess Engineering
• Gene manipulation of microbes and animal cells;

Market success Story Biotech

India is an example of successful development in the field of Bio technology is concerned about improving health care and animal products and agricultural growth and plant products. Development and production of indigenous hepatitis B vaccine by a number of companies around the world for patent plafactor sound system of fermentation called drug distribution of State for gene therapy, the domestic production of HIV I & II Rapid Detection Test Kit the development of various other indigenous diagnostic kits and the transfer of industry, the introduction of transgenic Bt cotton and the successful testing under controlled conditions of a number of vegetables, horticultural crops, research on genetically modified seeds and organic fertilizers and organic products, development of human insulin, growth hormone, interferons (alpha 2a and 2b), the development of vaccines for animals, such as vaccines for poultry are a few success stories in Since the growth of this sector is concerned.

Biotechnology in India – a historical back ground

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) was established by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986. This gave new impetus to the development of biotechnology in India. The DBT has established several centers of excellence in the country. These centers are responsible for the generation of skilled workers, the development of research initiatives and opportunities and sustain its R & D in the private sector and provides the platform to stand on their research activities in these centers. This facilitated the interaction between academia and industry that led to the real estate entrepreneur and a number of initiatives to take root and grow biotechnology in India.

The Indian government has developed in biosecurity and helped establish the patent rules. He also participated in technology transfer and international cooperation. The center also plans to introduce other venture capital funds in line with its Technology Development Fund (TDF) to promote small and medium biotech companies.

The Indian government has set up a decent regulatory framework for approving GM crops and products of recombinant DNA for human health. A proactive government policy allows stem cells in the country, despite having put in place its code of ethics. The patent system, which came into force in 2005 and led to give a message to the world and the Indian industry that India supports the framework of rules and rewards of research and new initiatives. The second amendment to the Indian patent law includes a patent period of 20 years, the provision of emergency and early R & D, immediately after the filing of patents. The bill is consistent with WTO provisions and travel and make Indian laws compatible with what was agreed in the framework of multilateral negotiations.

Several states have taken their own initiatives in terms of defining their own policies to boost the biotechnology industry in this sector and biotechnology in India, as a whole. States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are developing biotech parks. This is to encourage research, establish links between their research institutions and industry. various concessions offered to the industry in terms of one-stop shop for quick clearance, exemption from taxation, the creation of funds to be used for the incubation of a new project.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Science and Technology, a number of centers of excellence in the field were established. These places have a world-class infrastructure and research centers to be fully developed. These centers are open to collaboration. Some of them are: Plant Genomics Center, New Delhi, Center for Human Genetics, Bangalore, National Institute of Biologicals, New Delhi, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, National Facility for Macromolecular Crystallography, BARC, Mumbai, National Endowment for the high field NMR, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, Central Institute of Drug Research, Lucknow, National Brain Research Centre, New Delhi, CIMAP, Lucknow.

Biotechnology in Health- A goldmine

Biotechnology has been associated with improved overall health and lifestyle of human beings for some time. In fact a lot of research in biotechnology is focused in the field of genetics, DNA fingerprinting, DNA recombitant (rDNA) analysis and other related areas are addressed to unlock the mysteries of life and to improve disease quality of life and improve the standard of living. Needless to say, this exciting and unexplored (unexplored in the sense that a vast ocean is still there to win as much as the conditions and human diseases are concerned) offers tremendous opportunities for manufacturers of drugs and academic institutions to undertake or sponsor projects research and pilot projects to give shape to ideas and concepts.

India has remained relatively intact for a considerable period of time due to various regulatory and other reasons. The first and the first was the process patent regime that existed until December 31, 2004. This enables companies to achieve what is commonly called "reverse engineering" that by developing the same product, but with different processes. Thus the Indian pharmaceutical company profitable in the short term, as the Indian market were concerned. However, even this has made them ill late on the international scene to the extent that new research in the field was concerned. However, the amendment of the Patent Act and the entry into force of the same thing with effect from 1 January 2005, has made Indian companies to rethink their strategy and contribute to the field by a change in the policy framework.

Several path breaking success in international research in the field of biotechnology for health has completely changed the market. Sequencing the human genome has led to a better understanding of how to detect and treat various diseases. Health Biotechnology has had a direct impact on the daily lives of people around the world. treatments for cancer vaccines, antibiotics, genetic testing, and diagnostics and innovative therapies for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and diabetes are some innovations in biotechnology in improving health and health life styles of people in developed countries and countries in the developing world.

Biotechnology plays an important role as a preventive health system. patients screened for susceptibility to the disease and the provision of vaccines against the onset of the disease has a positive impact on millions of people. Improved diagnostic tools to help doctors and researchers to identify the disease and targeted treatments for patients planning. The side effects can be minimized by understanding how a person's genetic makeup affects their ability to metabolize drugs.

In the future, biotechnology can improve health through the use and understanding of the genetic code to fight against the disease, and provides physicians with the tools to not only treat illness but to prevent and treat diseases with a personalized approach. Stem cells are cells of the type of construction for all, tissues and organs in human body cells. Preservation of his own stem cells could one day help restore the body parts that become damaged due to disease or injury.

Biotechnology in food processing- Issues Relevant to Developing Countries

Application of biotechnology for food processing in developing countries is a matter of debate and discussion long ago. biotech research applied to biotechnological processes in most developing countries, development goals and improving the traditional fermentation processes. However, there are some issues to be discussed in developing countries, using the technology for various applications.

1. Socio-economic and cultural
Traditional fermentation processes used in most developing countries are low-input technologies for food processing appropriate to the minimum investment. These processes are, however, often uncontrolled, unhygienic, inefficient and generally lead to products of varying quality and short duration. Fermented foods, however, be consumer acceptance in developing countries and contribute significantly to food security and nutrition. As the applications of biotechnology to fermented foods such impact on socio-economic and cultural rights?

2. Infrastructure and logistics
Physical infrastructure needs of production, distribution and storage (eg refrigeration) microbial cultures or enzymes on a continuous basis is generally available in urban areas of many developing countries. However, this is not the case in most rural areas of developing countries. If research is oriented so that people at all levels can benefit from biotechnology applications in food fermentation process? What is needed for the level of fermentation technologies and process controls must be improved to increase efficiency, productivity and quality and safety of fermented foods in developing countries?

3. Nutrition and Food Security
Fermentation processes to improve the nutritional value of foods through the biosynthesis of vitamins, amino acids and proteins, improving the digestibility of protein and fiber, to improve the bioavailability of trace elements and degrading anti-nutritional factors.

Nutritional characteristics (and safety aspects) of fermented foods are well documented and appreciated in developing countries? It 'necessary to educate consumers about the benefits of fermented foods?

4. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
The methods used in the most advanced agricultural biotechnology tend to be covered by intellectual property rights This also applies to biotechnological processes used in food processing. On the other hand, many of the fermentation process traditionally used in developing countries rely on traditional knowledge.

How should food scientists, researchers, associations and industry players and governments of developing countries to address these problems?

Biotechnology and food processing

Appliations of biotechnology in food-How to benefit?

Biotechnology encompasses a wide range of different technologies and can be applied in each of the various food sectors and agriculture. It includes technologies such as genetic modification (manipulation) and the transfer, the use of molecular markers, the development of recombinant vaccines and DNA-based methods of disease characterization propagation / diagnostic in-vitro growing plants, embryo transfer and other reproductive technologies. It also includes a number of technologies used to process raw materials produced by the food crop sectors, fisheries and livestock. It 'an area that receives relatively little media attention, but it is very important for food security in many developing countries.

Biotechnology in food processing is the selection and improvement of microorganisms with the objectives of improving process control, productivity and efficiency and the quality, safety and consistency of processed organic products. Micro-organisms or microbes are generic terms for the group of organisms that are microscopic in size, and include bacteria, yeasts and molds.

Fermentation is the process of bioconversion of organic matter by micro-organisms and / or enzymes (complex proteins) of microbial, plant or animal. This is one of the oldest forms of food preservation that is applied globally. Indigenous fermented foods such as bread, cheese and wine and other fermented foods contribute about one third of the food throughout the world.

The fermentation is generally applied in the conservation of a range of agricultural products (cereals, roots, tubers, fruits and vegetables, milk, meat, fish, etc..) Commercially produced fermented foods that are marketed worldwide dairy products (yogurt cheese, fermented milk), soy sauce and sausages.

food fermentations contribute substantially to the safety and food security, particularly in rural areas of many developing countries. The process has been used for years and years and has been widely accepted standard. Needless to say, the potential application of biotechnology in particular in developing countries in terms of food security and the fight against hunger is huge and more efforts and incentives are needed to give a boost to the sector.

Although the fermentation technology has been used for many years in these countries, the resulting output of these technologies is not very high and there is a need to contribute to research efforts in this direction to increase productivity. In addition to a careful evaluation of the merits and weaknesses of each technology to find the level of consumption and the toxin is also necessary.

Biotechnology- means to Achieve Food security

Agricultural productivity is important for food security, as it has an impact on food supplies, prices and incomes and purchasing power of farmers. Improve food security at national level requires an increase in food availability through increased agricultural production.

Historically, food production in developing countries can be attributed to the cultivation of new land, rather than the introduction of better farming practices and application of new technologies. By its very nature, agriculture threatens other ecosystems, a situation that can be aggravated by over-cultivation, grazing, deforestation and poor irrigation practices. However, the increase in demand for food in Asia, Europe and North Africa should be met by increasing yields, because most land in these areas is already used for agriculture. E 'in this context that biotechnology techniques of different nature may be practical to use to improve performance and productivity.

Food safety:

food productivity worldwide is undergoing a process of rapid transformation due to technological advances in communication, information, transport and modern biotechnology. A general observation is that technologies tend to develop in response to market pressures, not the needs of the poor who have no purchasing power. Agriculture is the main economic activity in rural communities, optimizing production levels will generate employment and income, and thus advance the wealth and welfare of the community. Improve agricultural production in developing countries is essential to reduce poverty and increase food security.

The initial investment to boost agricultural productivity can be achieved through the introduction of advanced technologies such as improved seeds, crop rotation systems, etc., using technology to reduce the loss of crops and waste production of crops that are resistant weeds, insects and other reasons for the failure of crops using biological insecticides to preserve the nutritional value of plants and reduce its toxicity. Other measures include the use of techniques that are:

• the environment, conserve resources and maintain the productive potential
• feasible and profitable for farmers over a long period
• Provide Food Quality and sufficiency for all people
• socially acceptable
• socially equitable between countries and within each country

production problems for farmers vary between countries and communities, and technology must be adapted to these situations, ie, a solution will not be appropriate everywhere. In fact, these programs are now widely accepted as being the focus of sustainable agriculture. Improving the nutritional properties of staple foods consumed by the poor could reduce the disease burden in many developing countries. For example, scientists at the Institute for International Research on the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, India) have developed a variety of pearl millet enriched in beta-carotene. This has led not only to produce a crop that is widely used by low productivity increases, but also add value to the nutritional content of culture. E 'need for direct research in areas that are capable of generating sustainable long-term solutions to food problems, which are not governed only by considerations of pure economic interests.

Biotech Policy Initiatives

Perhaps one of the greatest impetus to the growth of the bio-technology in India was part of the positive political climate and investment offered by the government and the governments of states that have tried to develop the sector in their respective states. The government and the governments of states have taken various initiatives to promote biotechnology in India. State governments, including Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi have taken initiatives to encourage entrepreneurs to establish industries of biotechnology in their states.

Among the important measures taken by central governments and states the following:

• Establishment of a separate Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986 gave impetus to the growth of Indian economy.

• Announcement of a separate policy for biotechnology in the U.S. as a recognition of the importance of the sector as a key area for growth;

• Setting up of exclusive Biotechnology Parks, they must encourage research, establish links between their research institutions and industry. various concessions offered to the industry in terms of one-stop shop for quick clearance, exemption from taxation, the creation of funds to be used for the incubation of a new project.

• establish working groups with experts to guide them on policy issues and the establishment of a positive policy framework.

• Holding fairs in various fields of science and technology seminars for national and international initiatives for India in the field.

Many Indian companies have introduced products through original research and technology transfer between R & D institutes in India in the field of vaccines, diagnostics and clinical research and contract testing. Others have established tie ups and joint ventures with foreign companies for the provision of technology and testing of new products made with technology from abroad, to introduce them in India under the Indian laws. The outsourcing of R & D in biotechnology represents a tremendous opportunity for Indian companies to do research on behalf of foreign companies. The current expenditure on R & D outsourcing is about $ 9 billion and is expected to increase to 30 percent per year over the next five years.

There are about 50 R & D laboratories in the public sector, offering high-quality R & D and more than 20 research conducted in specific areas of biotechnology. In addition, there are companies in Bangalore with an excellent workforce and technical institutions worldwide as the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), National Centre for Biological Sciences (BCN), Jawahar Lal Nehru Centre for Research Advanced Scientific (JNCASR), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, National Center for Macromolecular Crystallography, BARC, Mumbai, National High Field NMR, TIFR, Mumbai, Central Institute of Drug Research, Lucknow, National Brain Research, New Delhi, which offers all the services of high quality R & D organizations worldwide.

Biotechnology- Funding by Government of India

Biotechnology-financing by the Government of India

Without losing sight of the importance of biotechnology in the modern era, several government funding agencies offer various types of research grants and fellowships through soft loans or equity, to conduct research in various fields of biotechnology and commercialization of indigenous biotechnology. Various institutes like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), University Grants Commission (UGC) are actively involved in the field.

Under the aegis of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India are three major departments:

• Department of Science and Technology (DST)

• Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

• Ministry of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)

FINANCING PROGRAMS DST, DBT and DSIR

TDB - Technology Development Board

The TDB, created in 1996, aims to manage and fund Technology Development and Application. It invests in equity capital and also gives soft loans to industrial concerns, cooperatives and other agencies, which are involved in the development and commercial application of indigenous technology, or adapting imported technology to wider domestic applications having common good as the cause.

TIFAC - Technology Information Forecasting & Assessment Council

TIFAC is an autonomous organization under the DST. It aims to keep a technology watch on global trends, formulate preferred technology options for India and promote key technologies.

HGT - Home Grown Technologies

Falling under the ambit of TIFAC , the Home-Grown Technology Programme aims to give financial., techno-managerial and patent related support to deserving technology development projects for pilot operations or/and significant improvement to existing processes and operations.

PATSER - Program aimed at Technological Self Reliance

The aim of PATSER is supporting industry for technology absorption, development and demonstration. It also helps builds indigenous capabilities for development and commercialization of contemporary products and processes of high impact.

TePP - Technopreneur Promotion Program The program jointly operated by DSIR and DST has the objective of tapping the vast existing innovative potentials of Indian entrepreneurs, to assist individual innovators to become technology based entrepreneurs and to assist in networking and forging links for the commercialization of their developments.

RDI - Research & Development by Industry The RDI main area of focus is the recognition of in-house R&D units in industries, recognition of Scientific & Industrial Research Organizations and giving fiscal incentives for Scientific Research.

SEETOT - Scheme to Enhance the Efficacy of Transfer of Technology.

SEETOT gives support to Technology Acquisition and Management.

Plant Bio Genetic Engineering

The selective, the voluntary transfer of beneficial genes from one organism to another to create new and better plants, animals or materials. Examples of GM crops are cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, soybeans, etc. transgenic plants and seeds are created by the process of genetic engineering, which allows scientists to move genetic material between organisms in order to modify these characteristics. All organisms, including plants consist of cells that contain the DNA molecule. DNA molecules in units of genetic information from genes. Every organism has a genetic code made up of DNA that determines the functions of its cells and the characteristics that make it unique.

Before genetic engineering, germplasm exchange was possible only between individual organisms of the same species. With the advent of genetic engineering in 1972, scientists were able to identify specific genes associated with desirable traits in an organism and the transfer of genes across species boundaries in another organism. For example, a gene from bacteria, viruses or animals can be moved into the production of genetically modified plants with altered characteristics. Thus, this method allows the mixing of genetic material between species that otherwise would not breed naturally. After decades of research, specialists of the plant were able to apply their knowledge of genetic engineering to improve the various cultures such as corn, potatoes and cotton.

Rapid advances in biotechnology have opened new market opportunities for scientists and companies to explore the possibilities of using technology in agriculture. Today, even in developing countries, land is increasingly cultivated variety of a growing number of GM crops. Research efforts are under way to genetically modify most of the plants with high economic value, such as cereals, fruits, vegetables, floriculture and vegetable crops.

Application of genetic engineering in plants has the following advantages for humanity:

• Development of plants resistant to pests and diseases.

• Increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

• To produce plants with healthy fats and oils that have increased nutritional value, improved lifestyle.

• The production of soybeans with higher protein expression of cancer that is found naturally in soybeans.

• Increase the yield per hectare resulting in increased productivity.

Plant Tissue Culture Biotechnology

The growing demand for energy for the mass propagation of trees has led to the development of the technique is known as plant tissue culture. It allows whole plants to be produced from small amounts of plant parts like roots, leaves or stems, or even just a single cell plant under laboratory conditions.

The father of plant tissue culture is the French botanist George Morel, who discovered the technique in 1965 while trying to get a plant virus-free orchids. Subsequently, the commercial use of the technology began in 1970 in developed countries. Early on, the concept was limited to a laboratory and an academic interest and, at best, was previously used for the cultivation of ornamental plants and flowers for export. But in most developing countries, the lack of biomass and energy needs increasingly felt the need to explore the possibility of mass distribution of trees through tissue culture.

Tissue culture methods or mass cloning of elite tree species is done to increase the productivity of the land. Are modified or adapted to the change of scale and increase efficiency and productivity. The concept has great importance for many developing countries like India where agriculture remains the predominant activity, requiring the adoption of new technologies to increase production.

In general, the species are selected for tissue culture based on the following considerations:

• Plant species that have problems of regeneration, mainly because of poor quality (such as bananas, Irish potatoes and bamboo). In these cases, the seeds collected from higher plants are used for the opening of crops and increase production.

• species where the plants of any one sex in particular is of commercial importance, such as equipment for papaya male and female plants of asparagus. In these cases, culture is launched with seed specific plants with commercial value. In tissue culture cells, tissues and organs of a plant are separated. These cells are grown in separate individual with a nutrient medium under controlled conditions of temperature and light. The plant requires a growing source of energy from sugar, salt, some vitamins, amino acids, etc., which are provided in the nutrient medium. From these elements of culture, an embryo can develop, which then develops into an entirely new plant.

Seedlings were photosynthetic efficiency and lack of appropriate mechanism to control water loss. They should be hardened gradually by moving them along a gradient of humidity in the greenhouse. Once these plants are in the areas of research are evaluated in the field. Many plant tissue culture that has developed over the trees are very consistent and show an increased production of biomass crops bred conventionally.

Tissue culture is used for the rapid vegetative propagation of plant material that is also known as micropropagation and the production of plants resistant to disease and pest free.

Use of Biotechnology

Biotechnology in its broadest sense, the application of all the natural sciences and engineering for the direct or indirect use of living organisms or parts of organisms in their natural form or modified in any way in the production of innovative goods and services and / or improve industrial processes. The market demand of modern biotechnology techniques, it is usually in the general areas of human health care, agriculture and food production, processing industry and other biological parameters of public good and the environment.

Thus, biotechnology refers to a set of technologies to understanding, mapping, manipulation or alteration of the genetic characteristics of a living organism.

The following is the application of modern biotechnology techniques in different application fields ranging from agricultural to industrial processes.

Healthcare biotechnology
Medicines
Vaccines
Diagnostics
Gene therapy
Bioactive therapeutic
Clinical and contract research
Neutraceuticals

Agricultural Biotechnology
Hybrid seeds
Biofertilizers
Biopesticides
Plant extraction
Plant genetic engineering
Tissue culture in planting

Industrial Biotechnology
Industrial enzymes
Biofuels
Polymers
Fermented products
Microbial strains
Biocatalysts
Oligonucleotides

Environment Biotechnology
Effluent and waste water management
Biosensors
Bioremediation
Development of Germplasms

Variants of Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organizations or systems to manufacture products that improve the quality of human life. The first farmers biotechnologists who developed the species of plants and animals from cross-pollination or crossing. In recent years, biotechnology has increased in sophistication, scope and applicability in various sectors of modern economies.

The science of biotechnology can be divided into several sub-discipline called red, white, green and blue.

Red biotechnology involves processes such as medical organizations for the production of new drugs, or using stem cells to regenerate damaged human tissues and perhaps re-grow whole organs, the design of organisms to produce antibiotics and genetic engineering care through the manipulation of genomic DNA analysis of progress in the understanding of human evolution and the origin of various diseases, tissue culture for the detection of diseases, etc. are examples of red biotechnology.

White biotechnology, also known as white biotechnology, biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the project of an organism to produce a useful chemical. White biotechnology tends to consume less resources than traditional processes used to produce industrial goods. fermentation process that is used to make bread and other food products is an example of white biotechnology.

Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An example is the design of transgenic plants to grow under specific environmental conditions or the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might produce more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture. An example of this is engineering a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external application of pesticides. An example of this would be the green revolution of Bt maize in India is a successful example of green biotechnology, leading to greater efficiency and productivity and self-sufficiency in food production. biofertilsers Introduction and biopesticides are various other examples of green biotechnology.

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that deals with computational techniques to biological problems. The land is often referred to as the computational biology. It plays a key role in various fields such as functional genomics, structural genomics and proteomics, and is a key element in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. And 'the dawn of the sector to the growth of the IT industry.

Blue biotechnology has also been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.

Molecular Biotechnology

Perhaps the most powerful use of biotechnology for the development of human welfare has been in the field of molecular biotechnology. The powerful revolution in medicine over the past ten years has been in the field of genomic research, which has completely transformed the conventional medicine in the field of molecular medicine. The unveiling remarkable almost complete human genome in June 2000 and the release of the genetic code, in February 2001, was instrumental in deciphering the search path breaking and miracle drugs and the demand for the scientific community. So he created jubilation among health care workers around the world, but at the same time, the requests raised several ethical, legal and social too (ELSI).

The progress of research in genomic medicine in India in the field of cancer genomics, vaccines, genomics, microbial, pharmacogenomics, vector genomics, neurogenetics and molecular basis of disease has led to the development of new drugs and research into new treatments for conditions that were considered fatal in the past.

While new developments are underway in the area, the need to further enhance the proven technologies such as diagnostics and vaccines and uses them to apply also in the process. And 'here that Indian industry will make further efforts to take advantage of a revolution in biotechnology. This shows that if the Indian industry is strong in product development and marketing of commercial benefits of biotechnology in India does not have the necessary infrastructure for R & D molecular modeling, protein engineering, medicine and the design of immunological studies . This problem must be treated immediately to save on research initiatives.

Another aspect to consider is that different technologies in the field of molecular biotechnology have the potential to improve productivity and increase the number and quality of new drugs, allowing more and more diverse genomic targets for drug quality and acceleration of clinical development by designing better tests have clearly shown that the improved safety, efficiency and compliance. According to one estimate, improvising medical outcomes using well-developed drugs and diagnostics, pharmaceutical companies could benefit from the order of U.S. $ 200-500 in additional revenue for each drug. Apex scientific bodies in India, for example, CSIR, ICMR, DBT has initiated national programs to identify and characterize novel drug targets, particularly in the field of tuberculosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, etc., as well as new therapeutic targets for disorders diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. In addition, there is also preparing a proposal to undertake single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapping in over 500 genes to identify and characterize the Indian population, genes associated with susceptibility to malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases, which are more common in the Indian context.

Health Biotechnology- Paradigms of Success

With the growing interest in health biotechnology is no longer the preserve of institutions of high quality research from North America and Europe. The market cost effective and urgent need to address human suffering and disease are in developing countries to take stock of the situation and create alliances to be at the forefront of research in this sunrise sector. Vaccines for the prevention of many diseases and epidemics, diagnostic tools and other products of biotechnology which can be produced relatively easily and economically by developing countries have the potential to save millions of people dying each year disease.

The following factors are crucial for the development of the sector:

• Focus on the health of local needs

• Important role of the private sector in marketing.

• The collaboration between academia and industry and government and industry.

• Carving a niche.

• long-term support of the government and sustainable.

A worrying phenomenon observed in this area is that, because markets for drugs in industrialized countries are much more profitable, the development of health products for people in the poorest regions of the world is upset. Of 1,393 new drugs marketed between 1975 and 1999, only 16 were for tropical diseases in developing countries and predominantly affect others and three of the 16 were for tuberculosis, which affects the whole world. More than 175 new drugs have been developed for cardiovascular disease in the same period.

Developing countries should adopt measures to contribute to the creation of health products to meet their needs. This would require not only increased spending on the core and the efforts of applied research, but also greater cooperation and collaboration between industry and the private sector on the one hand and research institutes, universities and other public institutions. The government should also make a world of good through financial contributions and other tax incentives for the biotechnology industry. You have to understand that biotechnology in the health sector has a long gestation period and serious efforts over the long term and sustained efforts are needed to promote the development of the sector significantly.

We can learn from South Korea. Although a late starter in the field of biotechnology, compared to other developed countries or developing countries, the South Korean government has played an important leadership role and wrote with chalk on a plan to invest 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2000 in 2007. Equally important, government policies to encourage technology transfer and allow university professors to set up private firms or spin-off, which promotes entrepreneurship and a global set of skills.

White Biotechnology Industrial Application

White or more commonly known as industrial biotechnology is used to produce all types of products used in daily life - ranging from bread and cheese microbial strains of biodiesel and bio-catalysts. It also involves fermentation and enzymatic processes that are always the best financial and ecological alternatives to chemical-physical and mechanical applications because of their economic environment and easier to use.

White biotechnology is an excellent example of interdisciplinary cooperation. The pool is generated by the technology areas as diverse as chemistry, molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, chemical engineering, agricultural sciences, computer science, computer engineering and process engineering. A new look, especially in the field of genomics and systems biology, are currently giving a big boost to white biotechnology are revolutionizing the entire application and industrial processes and the resulting savings.

The use of bio technology in industrial demand has also led to the introduction of environmentally friendly methods and processes in various areas such as food processing, textiles, mining, cosmetics and paper industries. Currently, only 5% of chemicals are produced using biotechnological methods. McKinsey report titled "The absorption of white biotechnology in the chemical industry") declared an increase of 10 to 20 per cent in 2010 is expected - with a trend for future growth. This should give a good sound byte of green peace volunteers.

There are over 3,000 different enzymes known to only 150-170 are used commercially. There is an enormous research potential waiting to be exploited. Other challenges include the optimization methods and enzymes involved. Washing products are probably the best known example of using biotech enzymes. Through biotechnology has a significant effect on the cost: wash without enzymes requires almost two times more energy than when the enzymes are used. Enzymes also the workflow more competitive and environmentally friendly. A good example is its effect on the textile industry: the use of enzymes in cleaning processes for the purification of tissues has led to a reduction in the consumption of energy and water up to 50 percent.

White biotechnology is also used in water purification that involves bacteria and demand for renewable raw materials. Products such as biofuels such as biodiesel, bioplastics, etc. have a promising future and opened research opportunities ideal for the mutual benefit of research institutions and industrial houses.

Further research in the field of white biotechnology acts as a three-pronged strategy. It gives an impetus to research initiatives, led to industrial production and a greater improvement in business and financial gain, while allowing the use of technologies that are more environmentally friendly and less polluting. Needless to say that the funds continue to flow steadily in that area that are huge mutual benefits and for all those involved in the process.

Red Biotechnology

Working to improve human health and lifestyle, using advances in technology and innovation.

In medicine, biotechnology has become an integral part in the diagnosis, gene therapy, clinical research and contract testing, therapeutic, bioactive, stem cells, genetic engineering and the development and production of new drugs to treat various diseases that are life threatening. The increased use of combination vaccines such as DPT with Hepatitis B, hepatitis A and polio vaccine injection, and several veterinary and poultry vaccines are examples of application of biotechnology in the field of drugs.

Tissue engineering, which deals with the plant tissue after culturing cells on biodegradable and biocompatible materials is the application of the new field with a great human development and alleviate human suffering. Besides the production of artificial leather, products of tissue engineering service contracts primarily through the provision of orthopedic cartilage, bone and intervertebral disc replacements.

Increasing application of biotechnology in the field of cancer research and treatment of disease, Parkinson's disease AM by discovering mutations and amplifications of a particular gene that causes Parkinson's disease AM is a revolution to open new frontiers to find a better and more effective treatment for the disease.

Biochips are also under development, as important tools for the development of personalized medicine. Biochips are miniaturized analytical tools that are used in diagnostics. They allow the rapid analysis of a patient's individual genetic OSA. Accelerating the development of new drugs, to allow early detection of disease, dose adjustment of medications to patients, AO individual needs and thereby reducing the number of unwanted side effects

It 'also known that some substances are only effective in some patients because of their particular genetic predisposition. Scientific studies have shown that the anti-cancer drug is effective in only about 10 percent of all cancer patients. E 'genetically possible to determine whether a particular patient belongs to the group of patients for whom the drug is effective. Another study showed that patients react differently to different doses of anti-depression and beta-blockers to control hypertension by maintaining their level of metabolism and genetic predisposition. Molecular genetics has shown that it is possible to determine the best medication dosage or can specify whether a particular drug is effective. This is, of course, also possible to design drugs based on specific genetic groups of specific patients. All this leads to a huge potential application of research and industry for a market that is growing.

Needless to say that biotechnology has a great demand for red, not only for growth in the sector, but is also useful to use technology more charitable to relieve human suffering and improve quality of life.

Green Plant Biotechnology

Green biotechnology is more commonly known as plant biotechnology is a growing field within modern biotechnology. This is essentially the introduction of foreign genes in plant species of economic importance, resulting in crop improvement and production of new products in factories. Use environmental friendly and effective alternatives to industrial chemicals such as biofuels, organic fertilizers and organic pesticides is not only result in increased agricultural production, improve standards of health and safety, these new products are driving less pollution to the environment and the use of green technologies. The increasing demand for agricultural products, has given new impetus to research in the field and has brought great benefits to farmers and consumers.

Today, plant biotechnology, which includes the following areas of research and application:

Plant tissue culture:
A technique that allows whole plants to be produced from small amounts of plant parts like roots, leaves or stems, or even just a single cell plant under laboratory conditions. An advantage of tissue culture is the rapid production of healthy planting materials. Examples of products of tissue culture in Kenya include bananas, cassava, Irish potatoes, pyrethrum and citrus.

Plant genetic engineering:
The selective transfer of genes voluntary benefits (s) from one organism to another to create new and better plants, animals or materials. Examples of GM crops are cotton, corn, sweet potato, soybean, etc.

Breeding assisted by molecular markers:
A technique that uses molecular markers to select a character of particular interest such as yield. A molecular marker is a short sequence of DNA are closely related to the desirability (in disease resistance) and for his presence at last choose option of preference. For example, corn that is tolerant to drought and maize streak virus.

Bio fertilizers and bio pesticides:
More and more farmers use organic fertilizers and bio pesticides to reap more benefits and to avoid chemical pesticides and pollutants have harmful effects on crops. According to conservative estimates in India, 10 percent savings through the use of organic fertilizers will result in an annual saving of 1.094 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer, which costs about Rs 550 crore.

Hybridization:
Increasingly specialists from the plant to exploit this feature to improve performance "hybrid" in factories. hybrid vigor, or hetrosis because it is scientifically known, exploits the fact that some children from the progeny of a cross between two parents noted that their parents would be better. Many hybrid varieties of various crops are grown throughout the world today. An example of this is that the hybrid tomatoes that we eat commonly.

Biotechnology- Significance in food production

The importance of the application of modern biotechnology in food production and its impact on human health and development can not be ruled out. While the world faces a growing population and increasing food shortages and regional imbalances, new techniques and technologies have been developed to improve production and increase the shelf life of perishable products. E 'in this sense that new research initiatives in biotechnology have been made to improve the productivity and nutritional value of foods.

Foods produced by modern biotechnology can be classified as follows:

1. Food consisting of or containing living organisms or viable, for example, maize.

2. Foods derived from or containing ingredients produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), such as flour, the products of dietary protein, or genetically modified soybean oil, wheat etc.

3. Foods containing simple ingredients or additives produced by microorganisms (GMMs) such as color, vitamins and essential amino acids.

4. Foods containing ingredients treated with enzymes produced by MGM, for example syrup, high fructose corn produced from using the enzyme glucose isomerase (product of MGM).

The first component of genetically modified foods (GMOs delayed ripening tomato) was introduced in the U.S. market in mid 1990. Since then, GM strains of maize, soybean, rapeseed and cotton have been adopted by a number of countries and marketed internationally. In addition, GM varieties of papaya, potato, rice, pumpkin and sugar beet have been tested or released. It is estimated that GM crops cover almost 4% of the total arable land.

The development of genetically modified organisms, has revolutionized the scenario of world food production. He also offered the opportunity to increase agricultural productivity and improving the nutritional value that can directly contribute to the improvement of human health and development. From a health perspective, there may also have indirect benefits such as reduced use of chemicals and farm incomes improved and sustainable crop improvement and food security, particularly in developing countries.

Although the introduction of GM crops has undoubtedly changed the scenario of the agricultural sector and led to a significant impact on human development, has also raised a number of social, cultural and ethical issues and the reluctance on the part of individual countries and governments to accept genetically modified foods, even in times of need such as famine and severe drought. While some countries have established standards for pre-market regulatory risk assessment of each food, before being launched on the market for the application, there may be a case of a coherent and consistent international regulatory authorities to ensure that the food complies with a set of rules that are fair and equitable. This will also remove a number of fears and doubts in the minds of countries that have yet to benefit from these foods.

Biologicial Technology- What it means

Biotechnology is short for biological technology. The technology is the ability to make better use of our environment and our way of life. Biotechnology applies the same principles for living organisms. Biotechnology can be defined as the application of our knowledge and understanding of biology to meet practical needs. Today, biotechnology is largely identified with applications in medicine and agriculture based on our knowledge of the genetic code of life, genetic engineering, DNA fingerprinting, molecular technology, the cultivation of genetically modified seeds, vaccines, bio-pesticides and fertilizers organic. Fermentation, used to make bread, beer and cheese, is an example of biotechnology. Modern biotechnology allows scientists to simply be more accurate in their work and expand their areas of specialization.

The different types of crops have been produced using the molecular tools of biotechnology and are beginning to be used in agricultural systems around the world.

Biotechnology has the potential to help farmers to reduce chemical inputs at the farm and produce value added. Conversely, there are concerns about the use of biotechnology in agricultural systems, including the possibility that it may lead to increased farmers' dependence on suppliers of new technologies.

Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has developed one of the many definitions of biotechnology. "Biotechnology: any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."

Biotechnology can also be defined as the manipulation of organisms to do practical things and provide useful products.

One aspect of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of biological products (eg, beer and dairy products like cheese, yogurt). For another example, naturally occurring bacteria used by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used for recycling, waste treatment, remediation of sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and produce biological weapons.

There are also applications of biotechnology that do not use living organisms. Examples are DNA microarrays used in genetics and radioactive tracers used in medicine.

Bio technology is applied in fields such as medicine and human rights in general and to improve health, agriculture to produce higher yields, the search for drugs and clinical trials and contract research for bioinformatics and related sectors and regions. Needless to say that the market already available and the extensive use of technology in industrial applications for the technology is one of the most happening today in the application for general use.

Bio Informatics Biotechnology

Bioinformatics and computational biology involve the use of techniques and methods, including applied mathematics, computer science, statistics, computer science, artificial intelligence, chemistry and biochemistry to solve biological problems. Considerable research efforts in the field include sequence alignment, gene discovery, genetic engineering, DNA fingerprinting, genome assembly, protein structure alignment, protein structure prediction, prediction of gene expression and protein-protein interactions, and modeling of evolution. E 'dawn and industry billions of dollars and millions of hours of research are spent in developed countries to explore better and more efficient on the database.

Bioinformatics and computational biology terms are often used interchangeably. However bioinformatics more properly refers to the creation and promotion of algorithms, computational techniques and statistics, and theory to solve formal and practical problems posed by or inspired from the management and analysis of biological data. computational biology, on the other hand, refers to a survey based on an assumption of a specific biological problem using computers, carried out with experimental data and simulated, with the main objective of discovering and promoting biological knowledge.

In recent decades, advances in molecular biology and the equipment available for research in this field has allowed the sequencing of more and faster than a large number of genes. This deluge of information has required the careful storage, organization and indexing of sequence information. Information science has been applied to biology to produce the field called bioinformatics.

The simplest tasks used in bioinformatics concern the creation and maintenance of databases of biological information. nucleic acid sequences (and sequences of protein) make up the majority of these databases. Although millions of storage and / or organization of nucleotides is far from trivial, designing a database and developing an interface whereby researchers can both access existing information and submit new entries is only the beginning. These are some concepts related to the field of bioinformatics:

• Finding genes in DNA sequences from different organisms.
• Development of methods to predict the structure and / or function of newly discovered proteins and structural RNA sequences.
• Clustering protein sequences into families of related sequences and the development of models of proteins.
• Alignment of similar proteins and generating phylogenetic trees to examine evolutionary relationships.

Plant Production Biotechnology

There is almost no aspect of crop production that will not go through major changes as a result of the application of biotechnology. Commercial applications of agricultural biotechnology has not yet occurred. Currently, more traditional aspects of biotechnology as tissue culture were important to disease-free, especially in accelerating the process of selection and propagation of new varieties of seeds.

Supply of seed crops cultivation was greatly improved with the in vitro development of varieties that are better suited to an environment improved. The application of tissue culture has several advantages, including reproduction and rapid reproduction, the availability of seed of all material, etc. year after the application of tissue culture does not require very expensive equipment, this technique can be easily applied in the countries development and can contribute to improving the local varieties of crops. For example, using traditional methods for propagating potatoes.

The reduction in the use of synthetic chemicals: Biotechnology can contribute to the need for agricultural chemicals, small farmers in developing countries can afford. Reducing the use of chemicals is less residue in the final product. This should increase productivity and fertility of the soil, and the reduction of toxic elements in crops.

Increased production: biotechnology can be used in diverse ways to achieve higher returns, such as improving the ability to flower and get increased photosynthesis or the intake of nutrients. Increase in productivity can be · Prices, which is an important policy objective is low in many developing countries.

improved collection: The cloning of plants can contribute to the labor market for the crop needs. When the plants more individual properties are uniform, grow at the same rate and mature at the same time, the harvest is less tiring. A reduction in workload is not only a goal in the highly industrialized countries, can also be very important for small farmers in developing countries.

Better Grade: food shortages in many countries would not exist if the problem of post-harvest losses can be solved. In future, the genetic engineering used to remove lead, system components, the premature deterioration of the crop. For example, on a technique to reduce the presence of a normal enzyme in tomato softening of ripe tomato fruit is involved patented and is very useful to improve the shelf life of different varieties of crops.

Application of Biotechnology to Livestock

In terms of food production, application of modern biotechnology, animals in two major areas: animal production and human nutrition. Many of the applications will be discussed below in the early stages of research and development and it will take a while before the same can be used for commercial applications.

Fish: Fish is the staple food for many economies and an important source of income. Expected increase in demand for fish suggests that GM fish may be important in developed countries and developing countries. Improved growth of Atlantic salmon with a gene for growth hormone of Chinook salmon is probably the first transgenic animal in the food market. These fish 3-5 times faster than non-GM growth, production and availability of food reduced. At least eight other species of farmed fish have been genetically modified to enhance growth. Other fish, whose growth hormone genes have been introduced experimentally, including carp, rainbow trout, tilapia and catfish. In all cases, the genes of the growth hormone of fish.

The farming of carnivorous fish such as trout and salmon out on capelin and sand overfishing. To resolve this problem, the research is focused on the possibility of modifying the metabolism of these species, to improve the digestion of carbohydrates, to make the transition to a diet more herbal.

The lack of cold tolerance in warm-water species such as carp and tilapia can lead to significant stock losses in the winter season. Research efforts include attempts carried out in the field, the molecular conformation change of the lipids, increases membrane fluidity. To expand the geographical range of fish, one from an antifreeze fish species to other species, which led to the development of the required characteristic. Although strains resistant to freezing of Atlantic salmon were produced, the level of antifreeze protein secreted by the salmon was too small to significantly affect the freezing point have the blood.

The problems in the identification and assessment of hazards risks that may be associated with the release of genetically modified fish involved are always addressed at different levels. One such aspect is the production of transgenic fish sterile to minimize the environmental risks of releasing them into wild populations and lead to possible contamination of wildlife biology.

Fish farming scene is greatly changed the research efforts are increasingly successful in developing new technologies to increase productivity. This should also lead to excellent application development and developed countries. On the one hand, research in the field should devote serious revenue lead for several coastal states and fishing also an opportunity for the developed countries in research to improve quality for different purposes.

Biotechnology - Livestock and poultry

Foods produced from genetically modified animals and poultry are far from commercial use. Research efforts are underway in many laboratories around the world to improve the quality of animals for human consumption. Although it may take some time for an effective commercial application of these efforts really start and has a significant impact on human development, the effort is going in the right direction and could lead to breakthrough results sooner or later.

As part of ongoing research on several new genes that promote growth in pigs have been introduced. The process had a positive effect on meat quality, ie the meat is lean and tender. This research was initiated more than a decade ago, but due to some morphological and physiological effects developed by pigs, they are not marketed. It may still be a bit "when the commercial application of technology begins to consumption.

Many changes have been proposed that milk, or add milk proteins or manipulate endogenous proteins. Recently, researchers from New Zealand developed genetically modified cows that produce milk with increased protein casein. The use of such milk is rich in protein will increase efficiency in the production of cheese. Other work aims to reduce the lactose in milk, with the intent to make milk available to the population of individuals intolerant to milk. This is an area where research is in a fairly advanced stage, with results expected to be out very soon. Indeed in some countries, GM has cow got the green light for the test, which is the first step in allowing the commercial use of the same.

Other uses of genetic modification in livestock production in the early stages of R & D include improved resistance to disease, increase fertility in sheep changed ratio in poultry, increased egg production in poultry by creating two active ovaries, and improving feed efficiency in 'Enviropig' (environmentally friendly pig excrete less phosphorus). Most of this work is still theoretical and in a very early stage of research, that estimates of time frames for possible commercial introduction of any of these applications are not in the near future. However, the mere thought of effort in this direction shows that there is tremendous potential for commercial application of these technologies.

Research is also underway to improve the quality of poultry such as chicken and early detection of the virus and develop immunity to the virus in poultry. This point has both a human and commercial chicken Virus Free is fit for human consumption, and will take the concerns about the SARS virus outbreak in many countries. It is also expected to improve the breeding of poultry and reduced mortality in poultry, leading to improved returns for poultry producers.

Agricultural Biotechnology Part 2

With increasing population and the concern about food quality organic farming has gained focus in the recent past in India. Farmers in India are looking at the GM seeds, biofertilizers, biopesticides, which they expect more from their investments and also increase productivity. Farmers currently receive a premium for organic products. With this I am able to export their products at much higher prices. Much research initiatives have been launched to explore in the area of new technologies and new UPS tie and joint ventures were set up and get approvals from the government on technologies to improve agricultural yields and use a decent

GM seeds

The challenge to feed the production of more food grains to a growing population of India already has a billion exceeded with fewer resources companies such as Mahyco, Monsanto, Syngenta, Hindustan Lever bought, Advanta invest in GM crops. It was in 2002, a joint venture called Mahyco Monsanto and Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech AG has given the green signal from Indian government for commercial production and sale of Bt cotton (Bollgard) were obtained in six southern states of India.

Making a lot of awareness-raising campaigns to get in contact with the farmers to inform them of the benefits of using seeds that are resistant to pests, diseases, herbicides should be told and cultures, tolerance to drought, cold, salinity and other harsh environments. This will lead to trust between farmers and people in the industry.

Biofertilizers, biopesticides

In addition to genetically modified seeds are given to farmers also looking bio-fertilizers, biopesticides more benefits. Now farmers use Bt-based formulations, viruses such as NPV and GV, and neem-based pesticides. To meet the growing demand, the industry is to scale up investment in bio-fertilizers and biopesticides. conservative estimate shows that 10 percent will result in savings through the use of organic fertilizer to annual savings of 1.094 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer at a cost of about RS 550 crore.

Biofuel

A look at the opportunities in the biofuels sector has the central government to promote the initiative in this sector in a big way. The total consumption of ethanol-blended petrol would be 4.6 million tons per year. This industry not only helps the sugarcane farmers, sugar cane is used as a raw material for ethanol production, but also helps the security of oil than to trust and environmental benefits. E 'can save foreign currency for an amount of Rs 80,000 crore, while imports from India by 70 per cent of its crude oil requirements.