BIOTECHNOLOGY - Inshyna N.M. - 2009

INTRODUCTION

The History of Biotechnology

Since ancient times, humans have utilized biotechnological processes such as baking bread, brewing beer, making cheese, and producing other foodstuffs. All of these processes involve microorganisms. Fermentation is considered the oldest biotechnological process. Historical records show that as early as the 3rd millennium BC, the Sumerians produced up to 20 Different types of beer. In 1981, during the excavation of Babylon, a tablet dating back to 6 kB. C. was discovered detailing the beer-brewing process. Thus, individual elements of biotechnology—such as employing microbial Cells in industrial manufacturing—originated long ago.

The scientific foundation of biotechnology was established in the works of Louis Pasteur (1872–1876), the founder of microbiology. In 1814, the St. Petersburg academician K.S. Kirchhoff discovered The phenomenon of biocatalysis and attempted to use microbial Enzymes to produce sugar from available domestic raw Materials (until the mid-19th century, sugar was obtained exclusively from sugarcane). In 1891, Japanese biochemist Jokichi Takamine secured the first patent in the USA for using enzymatic preparations in industrial sugar production processes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, initial attempts were made to apply enzymes across various industries, including sugar, textile, and tobacco manufacturing. Academician O.M. Bach laid the groundwork for an applied branch of biochemistry known as technical biochemistry.

The scientist developed recommendations for improving the Processing technologies of diverse biochemical raw materials, as well as optimizing bread baking, brewing, winemaking, and The production of tea and tobacco. All of these studies, alongside progress in the chemical and microbiological industries, created the Prerequisites for the emergence of modern biotechnology.

The microbiological industry forms the backbone of biotechnology. The 1940s and 1950s marked the dawn of the antibiotic era, highlighted by the synthesis of penicillin.

The 1960s and 1970s saw the rapid development of Cell engineering.

In 1973, the first recombinant DNA molecule was created, giving rise to Introduction/32.html">Genetic Engineering. In the USSR during the 1970s and 1980s, research led by Academician Yu.A. Ovchinnikov successfully introduced human genes (for Insulin, interferon, and Growth Hormone) into bacterial cells. Academician Ovchinnikov established the material and technical foundation for the bioindustry and pioneered the mass production of genetically engineered biopharmaceuticals for medicine and veterinary science.

Over the past 40 years, The Development of biotechnology can be divided into several key stages:

1) The 1970s–1980s — the emergence and development of genetic and cell engineering (leading to the Production of Human insulin, somatotropin, interferon, and Vaccines);

2) The 1990s — the rise and growth of agricultural biotechnology (resulting in the creation of Transgenic Plants and animals);

3) The modern stage — the Structure/175.html">Implementation of post-genomic technologies, which rely on precise knowledge of the genetic structure of living organisms.

Key Dates in The history of Biotechnology

1917 – Karl Ereky coins the term "biotechnology";

1943 – Industrial production of penicillin begins;

1944 – Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty demonstrate that genetic material is DNA;

1953 – J. Watson and F. Crick determine The structure of DNA;

1959 – S. Ochoa and A. Kornberg receive the Nobel Prize for discovering DNA polymerase and ligase enzymes;

1961–1966 – METABOLISM/28.html">The Genetic Code is deciphered;

1970 – The restriction endonuclease enzyme is isolated;

1973 – H. Boyer and S. Cohen develop Recombinant DNA technology and perform Gene cloning;

1975 – G. Köhler and C. Milstein develop hybridoma technology to produce Monoclonal Antibodies;

1976 – Methods for determining DNA nucleotide sequences (sequencing) are developed;

1978 — Genentech produced human insulin using transgenic E. coli Bacteria;

1980 — the USA issued the first patent for obtaining recombinant microorganisms that utilize oil;

1981 — the first automated DNA synthesizers were developed;

1983 — Ti Plasmids were used for plant transformation for the first time;

1985–1988 — the Polymerase Chain Reaction method was developed;

1990–2003 — the Human Genome Project was carried out; 99% of The Human Genome was sequenced with an accuracy of 99.99%;

1996 — The Genome of the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was sequenced;

1997 — Dolly the sheep was cloned from a somatic cell;

2004 — cloning of cows whose milk contains human growth hormone; cloning of insects.

The most significant discoveries in 20th-century biological science included: determining The Role of DNA as the carrier of hereditary information, deciphering the genetic code, developing recombinant DNA technology, creating hybridoma technology, and sequencing the genomes of bacteria, yeast, nematodes, the plant Arabidopsis, and humans.

Advancements in mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic Resonance, and X-ray crystallography have revolutionized the quantitative and qualitative identification of Proteins, as well as our understanding of the structure of individual proteins and multienzyme complexes. Key biological discoveries also include decoding the STRUCTURE OF THE nucleosome and the RNA polymerase complex.

The most notable achievements of biotechnology in the early 21st century are the development of high-throughput DNA Sequencing Methods and powerful computational tools for genome decoding, along with the creation of the human genome map.

The DEVELOPMENT OF NEW technologies enables scientists to utilize genomic data to address fundamentally new questions regarding the complex nature of living cells.

Today, the USA holds the leading position in biotechnology development. The shares of various countries in global biotechnology production are as follows: USA — 42%, European Union countries — 22%, China — 10%, India — 2%.

In Ukraine, the pioneers of biotechnological research are:

- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the AMS of Ukraine;

- Kyiv Polytechnic Institute;

- Institute of Cell Biology of the NAS of Ukraine;

- Southeastern Scientific Center (NTU "KhPI", National University of Pharmacy; Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the NAS of Ukraine, B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the NAS of Ukraine).