Biotechnology — BIOLOGY STD 12 Science — Question

1. Transgenic plants are potential factories or bioreactors for biochemicals and biopharmaceuticals like starch, sugar, lipids, proteins, hormones, antibodies, vaccines or enzymes.
2. Various fine chemicals, perfumes, adhesive compounds industrial lubricants, etc. can be isolated from plants.
3. Plants can be the source of biodegradable plastic and ‘renewable’ energy to replace fossil fuels.
4. Transgenic plants useful for production of novel drugs like interferons, edible vaccines, antibodies, amino acids, immunotherapeutic drugs, etc. Thus, they are like bioreactors for molecular farming.

Examples:

1. The gene for Human growth hormone has been inserted into the chloroplast DNA of tobacco plants.
2. Humanized antibodies against HIV, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Herpes simplex virus (HSV), the cause of “cold sores” are developed using transgenic plants.
3. Superglue’ is a biochemical glue for body repairs during surgery. It is produced by tobacco plants which contain genes encoding for adhesive proteins which allow marine mussels to stick to rocks.
4. Protein antigens to be used in vaccines : e.g. Patient-specific antilymphoma vaccines. B-cell lymphomas are clones of malignant B cells expressing a unique antibody molecule on their surface.
5. Transgenic plants cam be used as factories for producing oil having nutritional value like cod-liver oil. These plants are engineered with a oil encoding gene from marine algae.
6. Transgenic plants produce the antimalarial drug, Artemisinin.
7. Genetically engineered opium poppy can be used to produce powerful painkillers.
8. Transgenic plants like potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, soybeans, alfalfa and cereals can be used as edible vaccine.