Trends on the development and application of biotechnology?

Application and Development Prospects of Biotechnology

Along with the new breakthroughs in life sciences, modern biotechnology has been widely used in industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, medicine, environmental protection and many other fields, which has produced great economic and social benefits.

(I) Application of Biotechnology

1. Application of Biotechnology in Industry

Food

First of all, biotechnology has been used to improve the production efficiency so as to increase the food production.

Secondly, biotechnology can improve food quality. For example, the production of high fructose syrup from starch using immobilized enzymes (or enzyme-containing bacteriophages) to replace sucrose is a revolution in the sugar industry.

Third, biotechnology is also used to open up food categories. The use of biotechnology to produce single-cell protein to solve the problem of protein deficiency provides a feasible way. At present, the world's production of single-cell protein has exceeded 30 million tons, the quality of a major breakthrough, from the main use as feed to the development of people on the table.

Materials

The construction of new biomaterials through biotechnology is one of the important ways to develop modern new materials.

First of all, biotechnology makes some waste biomaterials into treasure. For example, chitin can be obtained from the shells of crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs using biotechnology. Chitin is an excellent material for making surgical sutures, which are soft, accelerate wound healing, and can be absorbed by the body without removing the sutures.

Second, biotechnology offers the possibility of mass production of some scarce biological materials. For example, spider silk is a special protein with high strength and plasticity, which can be used to produce bulletproof undershirts, parachutes and other supplies. The use of biotechnology can produce spider silk protein to get a fiber comparable to spider silk.

Third, new types of materials can be developed using biotechnology. For example, some microorganisms can produce biodegradable bioplastics, avoiding "white pollution".

Energy

Biotechnology can, on the one hand, increase the rate of extraction of non-renewable energy, and on the other hand, develop more renewable energy.

First, biotechnology improves the efficiency of oil extraction.

Secondly, biotechnology opens the way for the utilization of new energy sources.

1, the application of biotechnology in agriculture

Modern biotechnology is increasingly used in agriculture, so that the agricultural economy to achieve high yield, high quality and high efficiency.

Crop and flower production

The objectives of biotechnology applied to crop and flower production are mainly to increase yield, improve quality and obtain resistant plants.

Firstly, biotechnology can both increase crop yields and reproduce rapidly.

Secondly, biotechnology can both improve crop quality and delay plant maturation, thus extending the shelf life of plant food.　　Third, biotechnology plays an important role in breeding resilient crops. For example, pest-resistant crops bred by genetic engineering methods do not require the application of pesticides, which not only improves the economic benefits of cultivation, but also protects our environment. China's genetically modified insect-resistant cotton varieties, which have been popularized for more than 2 million mu in 1999, have created huge economic benefits.

Livestock and poultry production The use of biotechnology in order to obtain high-yield and high-quality livestock and poultry products and improve the livestock and poultry resistance to disease.　　Firstly, biotechnology can not only accelerate the reproduction and growth of livestock and poultry, but also improve the quality of livestock and poultry and provide high-quality meat, milk and egg products.　　Secondly, biotechnology can breed disease-resistant livestock and poultry breeds and reduce the risk of the breeding industry. For example, the use of genetic modification to breed disease-resistant animals can greatly reduce the occurrence of livestock plague and ensure livestock health, as well as human health.　　New field of agriculture Genetic engineering not only improves the yield and quality of agricultural and livestock products.　　The production of vaccines using genetically modified plants is a current research hotspot. Researchers hope to express vaccines in edible plants, and people can achieve the purpose of vaccination by consuming these transgenic plants. Hepatitis B vaccine has already been expressed in transgenic tobacco.　　The use of transgenic animals to produce medicinal proteins is also a current research hotspot. Scientists have bred a variety of transgenic animals, their mammary glands can specifically express exogenous target genes, so from the milk they produce can obtain the required protein drugs, because of this transgenic cows or sheep eat grass, milk contains valuable medicinal proteins, the production cost is low, you can get a huge amount of economic benefits.

2, biotechnology applications in medicine At present, the field of medicine and health is the most extensive application of modern biotechnology, the most significant achievements, the most rapid development, and the greatest potential for a field.　　Disease prevention The use of vaccines for active immunization of the human body is one of the most effective means of preventing infectious diseases. Vaccines can be injected or taken orally to activate the body's immune system and produce specific antibodies against pathogens.　　After the 1970s, people began to utilize genetic engineering technology to produce vaccines. Genetically engineered vaccines are made by recombining the gene for a protein of a pathogen into a bacterial or eukaryotic cell, and using the bacterial or eukaryotic cell to mass-produce the pathogen's protein, which is used as a vaccine. For example, genetic engineering is used to manufacture hepatitis B vaccine for hepatitis B prevention. China's current production of genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine, mainly using yeast expression system to produce vaccines.