Biotechnology and Its Applications (MPDMAT)

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb1 protein toxin provides resistance to plants from corn rootworm.

The alkaline digestive tract of the insects denatures the inactive toxin crystals making them soluble and thus, amenable to being cut with proteases found in the insect gut. This liberates the active toxin from the crystal, which then destroys the insect.

The term biotechnology was coined by Hungarian engineer Karoly Ereky in 1919.

RNAi technology was used to increase the stearic acid content of cotton. SAD1 gene was used for this purpose.

Tobacco is credited as the first transgenic plant to be produced.

Golden rice contains high concentration of vitamin A. This genetically modified rice is capable of producing beta-carotene in the grain, which is a precursor for vitamin A.

Bananas have been developed that produce a human vaccine against hepatitis B.

Transgenic carrots have been used to produce the drug Taliglucerase alfa, which is used to treat Gaucher's disease.

Monoclonal antibodies are produced using cancerous cell lines. The antibody producing cell is fused with cancerous cell lines to produce monoclonal antibodies.

The western blot (sometimes called the protein immunoblot) is a widely used analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract. It uses gel electrophoresis to separate native proteins by 3-D structure or denatured proteins by the length of the polypeptide. The proteins are then transferred to a membrane (typically nitrocellulose or PVDF), where they are stained with antibodies specific to the target protein.

Non-viral vectors have low gene delivery efficiency, which is a key obstacle for clinical applications.

The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) is a proposed regulatory body in India for uses of biotechnology products including genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The institute was first suggested under the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) draft bill prepared by the Department of Biotechnology in 2008. Since then, it has undergone several revisions.

Naked DNA approach of gene therapy has been explored for vaccine research. Naked DNA is histone-free DNA that is passed from cell to cell during a gene transfer process called transformation or transfection.

α-interferon gene was taken from human cells.

Biosteel is a trademark name for a high-strength based fibre material made of the recombinant spider silk-like protein extracted from the milk of transgenic goats.