AFNR – BAS – 8 How is biotechnology used in agriculture?

Biotechnology Using biological processes to get new or better plants and animals. All of the applied operations in producing food, fiber, and shelter Synthetic Biotech – Creating life characteristics with chemicals

Biotech in Agriscience Developing and using new forms of plant and animals Modifying plants and animals to improve their life processes Making substances from natural biological processes Improving the quality and kind of foods

Issues in Biotech Uncertainty Dangers in new life forms Keep organisms natural Unhealthy food Harm to handlers Labeling Ethics of joining plants and animals Lack of information

Two major areas of biotech Organismic level Organismic biotechnology deals with intact or complete organisms Molecular

Cloning Process of asexually reproducing organisms Plant tissue culture propagating plants using single cells or small groups of cells Embryo splitting When an embryo or a few cells are split into two parts which develop into a complete animal Apomixis Asexually reproducing plants by seed

Greater Fertility Various methods used to increase the reproductive capacity of superior animals Superovulation Increasing the reproductive potential of a female Embryo transfer Removing an embryo from its mother and placing it in another female

Increased Production Milk hormones Meat hormones Growth implants Bovine somatotropin (bST) is a metabolic protein hormone used to increase milk production in dairy cows Meat hormones Porcine somatotropin, abbreviated as (pST), is a growth hormone naturally produced in pigs Growth implants Small pellets that are placed under the skin of animals

Biotechnology in aquaculture Spawning Process of producing eggs that are fertilized with sperm from male fish Hatching Process of getting baby fish from fertilized eggs Nursery Management Caring for fry (tiny newly-hatched fish) Sex changes Some species of fish don’t grow well when the males and females are left together. Researchers have developed ways to change the sex of newly hatched fish Tilapia

Ultrasonics in Ag It is used in assessing product quality and fetal development in pregnant females Product quality Used to assess the amount of fat on cattle and other animals Pregnancy assessment Can be used to determine the development of an embryo and fetus in a pregnant female Locate fish Ultrasonics are used to locate objects under water, such as wild fish in the ocean

Improving Growth Ammoniating hay Digestibility testing Low quality grass hay may be treated to make it more nutritious Digestibility testing May involve direct intervention in the digestive system of cattle Controlled feeding Improving nutrition and feeding involves careful study of animal feed consumption and growth

Predicting Life Plant growth chambers Computer simulations Used to study the effects of changes in the environment on plants. Computer simulations Gather information to answer questions about growing the crop

Molecular Biotech Involves changing the structure and parts of cells Cells – Various materials that direct life processes Genomes – The heredity material in a cell Chromosomes – Thread like parts inside a cell nucleus that contain genetic material and protein

Molecular Biotech Genes – Parts of segments of chromosomes that contain the heredity traits of organisms Genotype – Genetic makeup of an organism Phenotype – the appearance of an organism Mutation – Change that naturally occurs in the genetic material of an organism

Genetic Engineering A molecular form of biotechnology Recombinant DNA – Taking a tiny amount of DNA from one chromosome and moving it to another Vectors carry new DNA into a cell Ligatim – Uniting or attaching the two DNA fragments

Genetic Engineering in Ag Herbicide - resistant plants Roundup ready cotton Insect - resistant plants Bollgard cotton Disease resistant plants Transgenic animals Frost protection

Assignment Using the chapter and notes, write at least 2 paragraphs comparing/contrasting organic agriculture vs biotechnology. A paragraph is 4-6 sentences