What do you mean by Bt?

Bacillus thuringiensis is the short form of Bt. This bacterium produces proteins that kill certain insects such as lepidopterans (tobacco, budworm and armyworm), coleopterans (beetles) and dipterans (flies and mosquitoes). Bt crops are transgenic crops that are genetically engineered from the DNA of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis .

Write an account of biotechnological applications in medicine.

The applications of biotechnology in medicine: The recombinant DNA technological processes have made an immense impact in the area of healthcare by enabling mass production of genetically engineered medicines such as insulin, by creating methods like gene therapy, recombinant DNA technology, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Enzyme-Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA). Genetically Engineered Insulin Insulin used for diabetes was earlier extracted from the pancreas of slaughtered cattle and pigs which caused some patients to develop allergies. Insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains: chain A and chain B that are linked together by disulphide bridges. In mammals, including humans, insulin is synthesised as a pro-hormone which contains an extra stretch called the C peptide and the C peptide is not present in the mature insulin which is removed during maturation into insulin. Two DNA sequences were prepared to correspond to A and B, chains of human insulin and introduced in plasmids of E. coli to produce insulin chains. Chains A and B were produced separately, which were extracted and combined by creating a disulfide bond to form human insulin. Gene Therapy Gene therapy is a collection of methods that allows the correction of a faulty gene by a healthy and functional gene. Correction of a genetic defect involves the delivery of a normal gene into the cells or tissues to take over the function of and compensate for the non-functional gene. The first clinical gene therapy was given in 1990 to a 4-year-old girl with adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency which is caused due to the deletion of the gene for adenosine deaminase. ADA enzyme is crucial for the immune system to function. Lymphocytes from the blood of the patient are grown in a culture outside the body and a functional ADA cDNA (using a retroviral vector) is then introduced into these lymphocytes using a retroviral vector which is returned to the patient. In some children, ADA deficiency can be cured by bone marrow transplantation or by enzyme replacement therapy in which functional ADA is given to the patient by injection. Molecular diagnosis Recombinant DNA technology, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Enzyme-Linked Immuno-sorbent Assay (ELISA) are some of the molecular diagnoses that serve the purpose of early diagnosis to understand the pathophysiology of the disease. PCR is used to detect HIV in suspected AIDS patients, to detect mutations in genes in suspected cancer patients too. Very low concentration of a bacteria or virus can be detected by amplification of their nucleic acid by PCR. A single-stranded DNA or RNA, tagged with a radioactive molecule (probe) is allowed to hybridize to its complementary DNA in a clone of cells followed by detection using autoradiography where the clone having the mutated gene will hence, not appear on the photographic film, because the probe will not have complementarity with the mutated gene. ELISA is performed based on the principle of antigen-antibody interaction, infection by a pathogen can be detected by the presence of antigens or by detecting the antibodies synthesised against the pathogen.

What are the conditions of biopatent?

Biopatent refers to the legal right given to the owner for a biological discovery or a biological product. In other words, it is a patent guaranteed by the government to use biological entities and products legally. The idea of biopatent reduces the risk of biopiracy. It occurs when researchers or research organisations take biological resources without official sanction, largely from less affluent countries or marginalised people. There are some conditions for an invention or research to call biopatent, some of which are listed below. The discovery must be new. The idea must be inventive. The invention must be industrially applicable. The invention or research must be lawful.

What are bio pesticides? Write briefly on bio pesticides with examples.

Biopesticides are biological control agents that are obtained naturally from the living organisms and are used to kill insect pests, weeds, pathogens etc. Some examples of the biopesticides are as follows: Bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used as a biopesticide against insects these are eaten by the insect larvae and in the gut of the larvae, the toxin is released and the larvae get killed. Azadirachtin and Pyrethrum obtained from the Neem and Chrysanthemum plant, respectively are also used as insect bioconrol agents. Trichoderma species are free-living organisms of kingdom fungi that are effective as biocontrol agents of several plant pathogens. Baculoviruses are pathogens that attack insects and other arthropods

Differentiate allelopathy and antibiosis.

Criteria Allelopathy Antibiosis Definition Allelopathy explains the inhibition of one species by another via certain chemicals. It has both positive and negative effects on the organism. Antibiosis is the interaction between more than two organisms, in which the growth of one organism is inhibited.

Write on the importance of biopiracy.

Biopiracy is the illegal use of bio resources by big organizations and multinational companies without any compensatory payments to the country from where it is relevant. Governments grant the rights and patents to confident investors as permission to use an invention for commercial purposes. It is the commercial exploitation of the biopatents. Biopiracy is the theft or usurpation of genetic materials, in particular plants and other biological materials, by the patenting process.