JIMMA UNIVERSITY

College of Agriculture and Veterinary

Medicine
Department of Horticulture and Plant
Science
Course Title: Plant Biotechnology (Plsc 2033)
Credit Hours: 3(2+1)
Year/Semester: Year III, Semester II
Instructor Name: Ashebir S. (MSc. In Plant Biotechnology)
E-mail: ashebirseyoum20@[Link]
Plant Biotechnology
 What is Biotechnology?
• Biotechnology is the manipulation
of living organisms and organic
material to serve human needs.

• It deals with the manipulation of

the genes of organisms to alter
their behavior, characteristics, or
value.

• Cell and gene technology used to

produce new characteristics in
plants and animals.
 Cont..
Present definition of biotechnology
•“Any technological application that uses biological systems,
living organisms, or derivatives theory, to make or modify
products or processes for specific use’’ (According to the
Convention on Biological Diversity)
• Biotechnology is NOT new. Man has been manipulating living
things to solve problems and improve his way of life for
millennia.
•Plants and animals were selectively bred and microorganisms
were used to make food items such as beverages, cheese and
bread.
 Timeline of Biotechnology
8000 B.C. : Domestication of plants and animals

4000 B.C. : Egyptians master the art of wine making

2000 B.C. : Egyptians used yeast to make bread

2000 B.C. : Egyptians and Sumerians learned brewing and cheese

making

500 B.C. : Mouldy soybean curds used to treat boils

 Cont..
300 B.C. : Greeks develop grafting technique

100 C.E. : Powdered chrysanthemums

1663: Robert Hooke described the cell

1675: Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovers protozoa and bacteria

1797: Edward Jenner created the cowpox vaccine

1802: “Biology” first appears

 Cont..
1830: proteins are discovered

1855: Escherichia coli is discovered by Theodor Escherichia

1859: Charles Darwin published the theory of evolution and

natural selection

1861: Louis Pasture develops pasteurization

1865: Gregor Mendel and laws of inheritance

1888: Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried discovered the chromosome

 cont..
1915: Bacteriophages were discovered

1919: “Biotechnology” was introduced by Karoly Ereky

1922: Dr. Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin

1944: Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and Maclyn McCarty

proved that the DNA carries the genetic information

1953: Watson, Crick and Wilkins described the 3rd model of

DNA
 Cont..
1973: Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer perfected genetic
engineering technique

1981: first transgenic animals are produced

1983: Polymerase Chain Reaction technique by Kary Mullis

1997: Scientists report the birth of Dolly, the first animal cloned
from an adult cell.

2002: The draft version of the human genome is published.

Why plant biotechnology?
Worlds’ current status
 1.2. Historical Development of Biotechnology

Ancient biotechnology
• Humans domesticate crops.
• Breed plants to further improve desirable
characteristics
• Traditional plant breeding selects mutants for
best yield and quality (e.g., tomatoes).
• Ultimate improved crop is maize:
domesticated from teosinte
 Classical
biotechnology
• The founding of the science of genetics.
• Cross-breeding to strengthen traits

1865
• Gregor Mendel discovers the laws of inheritance by
studying flowers in his garden. The science of genetic
begins.
 Hybrid breeding
• Two parental lines of normally outbreeding species are inbred
through several self-pollinations.

• When crossing such lines the first generation has hybrid

vigour.

• The vigour gradually disappears over the next generations so

new sowing seeds have to be purchased every year .

• Selection operates on desirable traits, not on survival in the

wild.
 Modern biotechnology
• Manipulates genetic information in organism;

• Genetic engineering
 Mutation breeding
• Seeds are treated with either
radiation or mutagenic
chemicals to induce larger
or smaller lesions in the
genes.

• The mutations are at

random over the genome.

• Usually mutation results in

a loss of function of genes.
 1.3. Biotechnology in Ethiopia
• Diverse Ethiopian communities have been employing
traditional biotechnologies to produce alcohols, beverages and
foods such as
• Araqi, Bordie, Enjera, Katikala, Korefie, Qotcho, Senafitch,
Taj and Tella , both at household and small-scale commercial
levels.
• As conventional biotechnologies, particularly conventional
animal and plant-breeding and selection techniques, were
widely used as major tools in increasing agricultural
productivity,
 Cont.…
• Conventional biotechnology research as related to
animal and
– plant breeding and selection,
– artificial insemination,
– multiple ovulation and in vitro transfer,
– vegetative and micro propagation, and tissue
culture techniques,
– as well as biochemical, genetic, immunological
and molecular studies of medicinal plants,
livestock and microorganisms were carried out in
the various research institutions, universities and
 Cont.…
• Nevertheless, advanced biotechnology researches using
recombinant DNA and other similar
technologies are limited.
– In 2015, the Ethiopian parliament opened up the
country to genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
by loosening the safeguards built into a 2009
biosafety law.

– Three years later, the government approved

commercial cultivation of a strain of cotton.
 Cont..
• The Ethiopian approach was praised in the above-mentioned
report published in February 2020:

• “approval of commercial cultivation of genetically modified

(GM) insect-resistant cotton (Bt-cotton) and

• confined field trail on GM maize can be taken as an effort to

improve agricultural productivity using modern agricultural
tools.”
1.4. Branches and Components of Biotechnology
1. Environmental biotechnology
A. Environmental monitoring
• Diagnosis of environmental problems via biotechnology
B. Waste management
• Bioremediation: the use of microbes to break
down organic molecules or environmental
pollutants.
• Phytoremediation: the use of plants to remove
pollutants (e.g. heavy metals) from the
environment.
 Cont..
C. Pollution prevention
• Renewable resources
• Biodegradable products
• Alternative energy sources
2. Medical biotechnology
A. Diagnostics
B. Therapeutics
C. Vaccines
D. Medical research tools
 Cont..

3. Agricultural biotechnology

A. Animal Biotechnology

B. Crop Biotechnology

C. Horticultural Biotechnology
D. Tree Biotechnology
E. Food processing
 Cont..
4. Industrial Biotechnology
A. Biocatalysts
B. Fermentation
C. Microorganisms
 1.5. Importance of Biotechnology

 Biotechnology involve making useful products from whole

organisms or parts of organisms, such as molecules, cells,
tissues and organs.

 Biotechnologies have an important role in meeting human

needs and demands in:
medicine;
agriculture;
forensics;
bioremediation;
biocontrol.
 Agriculture
• Gene technology can be used in agriculture
and food production to:
• increase crop or animal resistance to pests while
reducing the use of chemicals;
• increase crop or animal tolerance to chemicals that
are used to kill harmful pests;
• create disease resistance in crops and animals;
• improve the food yield per plant or animal;
• make plants and animals more suited to
environmental conditions e.g. drier regions or salty
water;
• improve the nutritional quality of the food
 Cont.…
• In vitro conservation Pesticide reduction
 Cont.…
• More food

• Better food

• More healthy
Forensics
DNA profiling is used in forensic analysis to identify DNA
samples at a crime scene.
Bioremediation
Organisms or parts of organisms can be used to clean up
pollution in soil, water or air.
Biocontrol
Biocontrol is when one organism is used to control the
levels of another. Biocontrol methods can be used to
control invasive plants and insects.
1.6. Applications of Biotechnology
Gene technology
The use of gene technology to produce a genetically
modified organism may involve:
• removing a gene;
• altering a gene;
• adding extra copies of an existing gene;
• adding a gene from another organism.
It is also possible to switch off undesirable characteristics
such as the production of a particular protein.
Some examples of gene technology:

The gene for a bacterial protein which kills insect

pests has been introduced into crops. This
reduces the need for chemical insecticides.

Switching off the gene that causes softening in

tomatoes, gives the product improved keeping qualities.
 A.) Transgenic Plants
• Golden rice - two daffodil genes and a
bacterial gene spliced into the rice genome to
produce more b-carotene, precursor to
Vitamin A
– Still not available due to regulations
 A.) Transgenic Plants:

• B.t. cotton – Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria make

a toxin against insects – natural insecticide
 A.) Transgenic Plants:
• Banana Vaccine: bananas that
contain a vaccine for hepatitis B and
cholera.
– When an altered form of a virus is
injected into a banana sapling, the
virus’ genetic material quickly becomes
a permanent part of the plant’s cells.
– Bananas provide an easy means for
delivering a vaccine (especially to
children) without the need for needles.