Biotechnology

Preface page xi 1 The nature of biotechnology 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 What is biotechnology? 2 1.3 Biotechnology: an interdisciplinary pursuit 7 1.4 Biotechnology: a three-component central core 14 1.5 Product safety 18 1.6 Public perception of biotechnology 18 1.7 Biotechnology and the developing world 19 2 Substrates for biotechnology 21 2.1 A biomass strategy 21 2.2 Natural raw materials 23 2.3 Availability of by-products 25 2.4 Chemical and petrochemical feedstocks 27 2.5 Raw materials and the future of biotechnology 28 3 Genetics and biotechnology 33 3.1 Introduction 33 3.2 Industrial genetics 35 3.3 Protoplast and cell-fusion technologies 37 3.4 Genetic engineering 40 3.5 The polymerase chain reaction 46 3.6 Genomics and proteomics 49 3.7 Potential laboratory biohazards of genetic engineering 50 Bioprocess/fermentation technology 52 4.1 Introduction 52 4.2 Principles of microbial growth 56 4.3 The bioreactor 60 4.4 Scale-up 67 4.5 Media design for fermentation processes 67 4.6 Solid-substrate fermentation 68 4.7 Technology of mammalian and plant cell culture 70 4.8 Downstream processing 73 4.9 Postscript 75 5 Enzyme technology 76 5.1 The nature of enzymes 76 5.2 The application of enzymes 77 5.3 Genetic engineering and protein engineering of enzymes 86 5.4 The technology of enzyme production 88 5.5 Immobilised enzymes 93 6 Biological fuel generation 102 6.1 Photosynthesis: the ultimate energy resource 102 6.2 Sources of biomass 103 6.3 Ethanol from biomass 105 6.4 Methane from biomass 112 6.5 Hydrogen 115 6.6 Postscript: microbial recovery of petroleum 116 7 Single cell protein (SCP) 118 7.1 The need for protein 118 7.2 Acceptability and toxicology of SCP 121 7.3 SCP derived from high-energy sources 123 7.4 SCP from wastes 124 7.5 SCP from agricultural crops 133 7.6 SCP from algae 133 7.7 The economic implications of SCP 134 8 Biotechnology and medicine 136 8.1 Introduction 136 8.2 Pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals 140 8.3 Antibiotics 140 8.4 Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies 144 8.5 Biopharmaceuticals 147 8.6 Gene therapy 152 8.7 A cautionary note 154 9 Environmental biotechnology 156 9.1 Introduction 156 9.2 Microbial ecology/environmental biotechnology 158 9.3 Waste-water and sewage treatment 160 9.4 Landfill technologies 164 9.5 Composting 166 9.6 Bioremediation 170 9.7 Detection and monitoring of pollutants 174 9.8 Microbes and the geological environment 175 9.9 Environmental sustainability and clean technology 178 10 Biotechnology in the agricultural and forestry industries 181 10.1 Introduction 181 10.2 Plant biotechnology 182 10.3 Forest biotechnology 190 10.4 Biological control 191 10.5 Animal biotechnology 194 10.6 Diagnostics in agriculture 200 11 Food and beverage biotechnology 204 11.1 Introduction 204 11.2 Food and beverage fermentations 207 11.3 Enzymes and food processing 222 11.4 Sweeteners 224 11.5 Food wastes 225 11.6 Miscellaneous microbial-derived food products 225 11.7 Rapid diagnostics 227 11.8 Bioprocess technology 228 11.9 Public acceptance and safety of new biotechnology foods 228 12 Protection of biotechnological inventions 229 12.1 Patent protection 230 12.2 Trade secrets 233 12.3 Plant breeders’ rights 234 13 Safety in biotechnology 235 13.1 Introduction 235 13.2 Concepts of hazard and risk 236 13.3 Problems of organism pathogenicity 237 13.4 Problems of biologically active biotechnology products 238 13.5 Biowarfare and bioterrorism 239 14 Public perception of biotechnology: genetic engineering – safety, social, moral and ethical considerations 241 14.1 Introduction 241 14.2 Release of genetically manipulated organisms into the environment 242 14.3 Genetic modification and food uses 245 14.4 The applications of human genetic research 251 15 Looking to the future 254 Glossary 259 Further reading 263 Index 268