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Molecular and agro-morphological characterization of new barley genotypes in arid environments

Genetic diversity, population structure, agro-morphological traits, and molecular characteristics, are crucial for either preserving genetic resources or developing new cultivars. Due to climate change, water ...

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Microvesicles-delivering Smad7 have advantages over microvesicles in suppressing fibroblast differentiation in a model of Peyronie’s disease

This study compared the differences of microvesicles (MVs) and microvesicles-delivering Smad7 (Smad7-MVs) on macrophage M1 polarization and fibroblast differentiation in a model of Peyronie’s disease (PD).

Improvement and prediction of the extraction parameters of lupeol and stigmasterol metabolites of Melia azedarach with response surface methodology

Melia azedarach is known as a medicinal plant that has wide biological activities such as analgesic, antibacterial, and antifungal effects and is used to treat a wide range of diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, ...

Dual release of daptomycin and BMP-2 from a composite of β-TCP ceramic and ADA gelatin

Antibiotic-containing carrier systems are one option that offers the advantage of releasing active ingredients over a longer period of time. In vitro sustained drug release from a carrier system consisting of ...

Minimizing IP issues associated with gene constructs encoding the Bt toxin - a case study

As part of a publicly funded initiative to develop genetically engineered Brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, and canola) expressing Bacillus thuringiensis Crystal ( Cry )-encoded insecticidal (Bt) toxin for Indian an...

Activating the healing process: three-dimensional culture of stem cells in Matrigel for tissue repair

To establish a strategy for stem cell-related tissue regeneration therapy, human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) were loaded with three-dimensional (3D) bioengineered Matrigel matrix scaffolds in high...

Co-overexpression of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase significantly enhanced the resistance of Iranian wheat cultivars to Fusarium

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating fungal disease affecting different cereals, particularly wheat, and poses a serious threat to global wheat production. Chitinases and β-glucanases are two important ...

A new mRNA structure prediction based approach to identifying improved signal peptides for bone morphogenetic protein 2

Signal peptide (SP) engineering has proven able to improve production of many proteins yet is a laborious process that still relies on trial and error. mRNA structure around the translational start site is imp...

Correction: Transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses provide insights into the flavonoids biosynthesis in the flowers of Lonicera macranthoides

The original article was published in BMC Biotechnology 2024 24 :19

A model approach to show that monocytes can enter microporous β-TCP ceramics

β-TCP ceramics are versatile bone substitute materials and show many interactions with cells of the monocyte-macrophage-lineage. The possibility of monocytes entering microporous β-TCP ceramics has however not...

Nutritional composition, lipid profile and stability, antioxidant activities and sensory evaluation of pasta enriched by linseed flour and linseed oil

Pasta assortments fortified with high quality foods are a modern nutritional trends. This study, explored the effects of fortification with linseed flour (LF) and linseed oil (LO) on durum wheat pasta characte...

In vitro assessment of the effect of magnetic fields on efficacy of biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles by Alborzia kermanshahica

Cyanobacteria represent a rich resource of a wide array of unique bioactive compounds that are proving to be potent sources of anticancer drugs. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have shown an increasing potentia...

ECM-mimetic, NSAIDs loaded thermo-responsive, immunomodulatory hydrogel for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, and it leads to irreversible inflammation in intra-articular joints. Current treatment approaches for RA include non-steroidal anti-infla...

Development of a chemiluminescence assay for tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor complex and its applicability to gastric cancer

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), is a noteworthy complication in individuals with gastric cancer, but the current diagnosis and treatment methods lack accuracy. In this study, we developed a t-PAIC chemiluminesce...

High-performance internal circulation anaerobic granular sludge reactor for cattle slaughterhouse wastewater treatment and simultaneous biogas production

This research investigates the efficacy of a high-performance pilot-scale Internal Circulation Anaerobic Reactor inoculated with Granular Sludge (ICAGSR) for treating cattle slaughterhouse wastewater while con...

Hindering the biofilm of microbial pathogens and cancer cell lines development using silver nanoparticles synthesized by epidermal mucus proteins from Clarias gariepinus

Scientists know very little about the mechanisms underlying fish skin mucus, despite the fact that it is a component of the immune system. Fish skin mucus is an important component of defence against invasive ...

3D printing of Ceffe-infused scaffolds for tailored nipple-like cartilage development

The reconstruction of a stable, nipple-shaped cartilage graft that precisely matches the natural nipple in shape and size on the contralateral side is a clinical challenge. While 3D printing technology can eff...

A cleavable peptide adapter augments the activity of targeted toxins in combination with the glycosidic endosomal escape enhancer SO1861

Treatment with tumor-targeted toxins attempts to overcome the disadvantages of conventional cancer therapies by directing a drug’s cytotoxic effect specifically towards cancer cells. However, success with targ...

Multiprotein collagen/keratin hydrogel promoted myogenesis and angiogenesis of injured skeletal muscles in a mouse model

Volumetric loss is one of the challenging issues in muscle tissue structure that causes functio laesa . Tissue engineering of muscle tissue using suitable hydrogels is an alternative to restoring the physiological...

Analysis of the impact of pluronic acid on the thermal stability and infectivity of AAV6.2FF

The advancement of AAV vectors into clinical testing has accelerated rapidly over the past two decades. While many of the AAV vectors being utilized in clinical trials are derived from natural serotypes, engin...

Rice yellow mottle virus is a suitable amplicon vector for an efficient production of an anti-leishmianiasis vaccine in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves

Since the 2000’s, plants have been used as bioreactors for the transient production of molecules of interest such as vaccines. To improve protein yield, “amplicon” vectors based on plant viruses are used. Thes...

Extraction and analysis of high-quality chloroplast DNA with reduced nuclear DNA for medicinal plants

Obtaining high-quality chloroplast genome sequences requires chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) samples that meet the sequencing requirements. The quality of extracted cpDNA directly impacts the efficiency and accuracy o...

Transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses provide insights into the flavonoids biosynthesis in the flowers of Lonicera macranthoides

Flavonoids are one of the bioactive ingredients of Lonicera macranthoides ( L. macranthoides ), however, their biosynthesis in the flower is still unclear. In this study, combined transcriptomic and targeted metabo...

The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Biotechnology 2024 24 :33

Effects of solid lipid nanocarrier containing methyl urolithin A by coating folate-bound chitosan and evaluation of its anti-cancer activity

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have received much attention over the past decade. In the present study, we synthesized Methyl Urolithin A-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles decorated with the folic a...

Neq2X7: a multi-purpose and open-source fusion DNA polymerase for advanced DNA engineering and diagnostics PCR

Thermostable DNA polymerases, such as Taq isolated from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus , enable one-pot exponential DNA amplification known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, properties oth...

A solution for highly efficient electroporation of primary cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are central players in the adaptive immune response. Their functional characterization and clinical research depend on efficient and reliable transfection. Although various metho...

Adsorption of Hg 2+ /Cr 6+ by metal-binding proteins heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli

Removal of heavy metals from water and soil is a pressing challenge in environmental engineering, and biosorption by microorganisms is considered as one of the most cost-effective methods. In this study, the m...

Derivation of a novel antimicrobial peptide from the Red Sea Brine Pools modified to enhance its anticancer activity against U2OS cells

Cancer associated drug resistance is a major cause for cancer aggravation, particularly as conventional therapies have presented limited efficiency, low specificity, resulting in long term deleterious side eff...

Polyphyllin B inhibited STAT3/NCOA4 pathway and restored gut microbiota to ameliorate lung tissue injury in cigarette smoke-induced mice

Smoking was a major risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study plan to explore the mechanism of Polyphyllin B in lung injury induced by cigarette smoke (CSE) in COPD.

Quantifying carboxymethyl lysine and carboxyethyl lysine in human plasma: clinical insights into aging research using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The objective of this study was to establish a methodology for determining carboxymethyl lysine (CML) and carboxyethyl lysine (CEL) concentrations in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectr...

Iron/Copper/Phosphate nanocomposite as antimicrobial, antisnail, and wheat growth-promoting agent

One of the current challenges is to secure wheat crop production to meet the increasing global food demand and to face the increase in its purchasing power. Therefore, the current study aimed to exploit a new ...

Staphopain mediated virulence and antibiotic resistance alteration in co-infection of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa : an animal model

Polymicrobial communities lead to worsen the wound infections, due to mixed biofilms, increased antibiotic resistance, and altered virulence production. Promising approaches, including enzymes, may overcome th...

Strain-specific features of Pleurotus ostreatus growth in vitro and some of its biological activities

The production of Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium as a promising object for use in food and other industries is hampered by a lack of information about the strain-specificity of this fungus mycelium growth and its a...

Antibacterial, antibiofilm, and anticancer activity of silver-nanoparticles synthesized from the cell-filtrate of Streptomyces enissocaesilis

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) have a unique mode of action as antibacterial agents in addition to their anticancer and antioxidant properties. In this study, microbial nanotechnology is employed to synthesize ...

Deep orange gene editing triggers temperature-sensitive lethal phenotypes in Ceratitis capitata

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata , is a significant agricultural pest managed through area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) including a sterile insect technique (SIT) component. Male-only re...

Characterization, modeling, and anticancer activity of L.arginase production from marine Bacillus licheniformis OF2

L-arginase, is a powerful anticancer that hydrolyzes L-arginine to L-ornithine and urea. This enzyme is widely distributed and expressed in organisms like plants, fungi, however very scarce from bacteria. Our ...

Green and environmentally friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles with antibacterial properties from some medicinal plants

Recently there have been a variety of methods to synthesize silver nanoparticles, among which the biosynthesis method is more noticeable due to features like being eco-friendly, simple, and cost-efficient. The...

Reaping the benefits of liquid handlers for high-throughput gene expression profiling in a marine model invertebrate

Modern high-throughput technologies enable the processing of a large number of samples simultaneously, while also providing rapid and accurate procedures. In recent years, automated liquid handling workstation...

Induction of antimicrobial, antioxidant metabolites production by co-cultivation of two red-sea-sponge-associated Aspergillus sp. CO2 and Bacillus sp. COBZ21

The growing spread of infectious diseases has become a potential global health threat to human beings. According to WHO reports, in this study, we investigated the impact of co-cultivating the isolated endophy...

A novel starch-active lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase discovered with bioinformatics screening and its application in textile desizing

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyzing the oxidative cleavage of different types of polysaccharides have potential to be used in various industries. However, AA13 family LPMOs which specificall...

Tuning spacer length improves the functionality of the nanobody-based VEGFR2 CAR T cell

The chimeric antigen receptor-expressing T (CAR-T) cells for cancer immunotherapy have obtained considerable clinical importance. CAR T cells need an optimized intracellular signaling domain to get appropriate...

Fabrication and characterization of metformin-loaded PLGA/Collagen nanofibers for modulation of macrophage polarization for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

In tissue engineering (TE) and regenerative medicine, the accessibility of engineered scaffolds that modulate inflammatory states is extremely necessary. The aim of the current work was to assess the efficacy ...

Production of a potential multistrain probiotic in co-culture conditions using agro-industrial by-products-based medium for fish nutrition

Probiotics are viable microorganisms that when administered in adequate amounts confer health benefits to the host. In fish, probiotic administration has improved growth, and immunological parameters. For this...

Research on the targeted improvement of the yield of a new VB 12 -producing strain, Ensifer adhaerens S305, based on genomic and transcriptomic analysis

Vitamin B 12 (VB 12 ) has a wide range of applications and high economic value. In this study, a new strain with high VB 12 production potential, Ensifer adhaerens S305, was identified in sewage. Because E. adhaerens

Validation and calibration of a novel GEM biosensor for specific detection of Cd 2+ , Zn 2+ , and Pb 2+

In this study, we designed a novel genetic circuit sensitive to Cd 2+ , Zn 2+ and Pb 2+ by mimicking the CadA/CadR operon system mediated heavy metal homeostasis mechanism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The regular DNA m...

Exploring the microbial diversity and characterization of cellulase and hemicellulase genes in goat rumen: a metagenomic approach

Goat rumen microbial communities are perceived as one of the most potential biochemical reservoirs of multi-functional enzymes, which are applicable to enhance wide array of bioprocesses such as the hydrolysis...

The transcriptional factor Clr-5 is involved in cellulose degradation through regulation of amino acid metabolism in Neurospora crassa

Filamentous fungi are efficient degraders of plant biomass and the primary producers of commercial cellulolytic enzymes. While the transcriptional regulation mechanisms of cellulases have been continuously exp...

An online soft sensor method for biochemical reaction process based on JS-ISSA-XGBoost

A method combining offline techniques and the just-in-time learning strategy (JITL) is proposed, because the biochemical reaction process often encounters changing features and parameters over time.

Preparation, purification, and biochemical of fat-degrading bacterial enzymes from pig carcass compost and its application

A lot of kitchen waste oil is produced every day worldwide, leading to serious environmental pollution. As one of the environmental protection methods, microorganisms are widely used treating of various wastes...

Coupling fermentation of glutamic acid and γ-polyglutamic acid and preparation of poly(amino acid) superabsorbent polymers

γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a biomarker that can be directly obtained by microbial fermentation. Poly(amino acid) superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) were prepared with purified γ-PGA as raw material and ethylen...

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Open Access

The future is bright, the future is biotechnology

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Public Library of Science, San Francisco, California, United States of America and Cambridge, United Kingdom

• Richard Hodge, 
• on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors

Published: April 28, 2023

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002135
• Reader Comments

As PLOS Biology celebrates its 20 th anniversary, our April issue focuses on biotechnology with articles covering different aspects of the field, from genome editing to synthetic biology. With them, we emphasize our interest in expanding our presence in biotechnology research.

Citation: Hodge R, on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors (2023) The future is bright, the future is biotechnology. PLoS Biol 21(4): e3002135. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002135

Copyright: © 2023 Hodge, on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The PLOS Biology Staff Editors are Ines Alvarez-Garcia, Joanna Clarke, RichardHodge, Paula Jauregui, Nonia Pariente, Roland Roberts, and Lucas Smith.

This article is part of the PLOS Biology 20th Anniversary Collection.

Biotechnology is a revolutionary branch of science at the forefront of research and innovation that has advanced rapidly in recent years. It is a broad discipline, in which organisms or biological processes are exploited to develop new technologies that have the potential to transform the way we live and work, as well as to boost sustainability and industrial productivity. The new tools and products being generated have a wide range of applications across various sectors, including medicine, agriculture, energy, manufacturing and food.

PLOS Biology has traditionally published research reporting significant advances across a wide range of biological disciplines. However, our scope must continue to evolve as biology increasingly becomes more and more applied, generating technologies with potentially game-changing therapeutic and environmental impact. To that end, we recently published a collection of magazine articles focused on ideas for green biotechnologies that could have an important role in a sustainable future [ 1 ], including how to harness microbial photosynthesis to directly generate electricity [ 2 ] and using microbes to develop carbon “sinks” in the mining industry [ 3 ]. Moreover, throughout this anniversary year we are publishing Perspective articles that take stock of the past 20 years of biological research in a specific field and look forward to what is to come in the next 20 years [ 4 ]; in this issue, these Perspectives focus on different aspects of the broad biotechnology field—synthetic biology [ 5 ] and the use of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the delivery of therapeutics [ 6 ].

One fast moving area within biotechnology is gene editing therapy, which involves the alteration of DNA to treat or prevent disease using techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 and base editors that enable precise genetic modifications to be made. This approach shows great promise for treating a variety of genetic diseases. Excitingly, promising phase I results of the first in vivo genome editing clinical trial to treat several liver-related diseases were reported at the recent Keystone Symposium on Precision Genome Engineering. This issue of PLOS Biology includes an Essay from Porto and Komor that focuses on the clinical applications of base editor technology [ 7 ], which could enable chronic diseases to be treated with a ‘one-and-done’ therapy, and a Perspective from Hamilton and colleagues that outlines the advances in the development of LNPs for the delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics [ 6 ]. LNPs are commonly used as vehicles for the delivery of such therapeutics because they have a low immunogenicity and can be manufactured at scale. However, expanding the toolbox of delivery platforms for these novel therapeutics will be critical to realise their full clinical potential.

Synthetic biology is also a rapidly growing area, whereby artificial or existing biological systems are designed to produce products or enhance cellular function. By using CRISPR to edit genes involved in metabolic pathways, researchers can create organisms that produce valuable compounds such as biofuels, drugs, and industrial chemicals. In their Perspective, Kitano and colleagues take stock of the technological advances that have propelled the “design-build-test-learn” cycle methodology forward in synthetic biology, as well as focusing on how machine-learning approaches can remove the bottlenecks in these pipelines [ 5 ].

While the potential of these technologies is vast, there are also concerns about their safety and ethical implications. Gene editing, in particular, raises ethical concerns, as it could be used to create so-called “designer babies” with specific traits or to enhance physical or mental capabilities. There are also concerns about the unintended consequences of gene editing, such as off-target effects that could cause unintended harm. These technologies can be improved by better understanding the interplay between editing tools and DNA repair pathways, and it will be essential for scientists and policymakers to be cautious and work together to establish guidelines and regulations for their use, as outlined at the recent International Summit on Human Genome Editing .

Basic research has also benefitted from biotechnological developments. For instance, methodological developments in super-resolution microscopy offer researchers the ability to image cells at exquisite detail and answer previously inaccessible research questions. Sequencing technologies such as Nanopore sequencers are revolutionising the ability to sequence long DNA/RNA reads in real time and in the field. Great strides have also been made in the development of analysis software for structural biology purposes, such as sub-tomogram averaging for cryo-EM [ 8 ]. The rate of scientific discovery is now at an unprecedented level in this age of big data as a result of these huge technological leaps.

The past few years has also seen the launch of AI tools such as ChatGPT. While these tools are increasingly being used to help write students homework or to improve the text of scientific papers, generative AI tools hold the potential to transform research and development in the biotechnology industry. The recently developed language model ProGen can generate and then predict function in protein sequences [ 9 ], and these models can also be used to find therapeutically relevant compounds for drug discovery. Protein structure prediction programs, such as AlphaFold [ 10 ] and RosettaFold, have revolutionized structural biology and can be used for a myriad of purposes. We have recently published several papers that have utilized AlphaFold models to develop methods that determine the structural context of post-translational modifications [ 11 ] and predict autophagy-related motifs in proteins [ 12 ].

The future of biotechnology is clearly very promising and we look forward to being part of the dissemination of these important new developments. Open access science sits at the core of our mission and the publication of these novel technologies in PLOS Biology can help their widespread adoption and ensure global access. As we look forward during this year of celebration, we are excited that biotechnology research will continue to grow and become a central part of the journal. The future is bright and the future is very much biotechnology.

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How Gene-Edited Insects Are Providing Food, Fuel and Waste Disposal

Companies are recruiting black soldier flies and mealworms as a protein source in animal feed, fertilizer, biofuels and even as ingredients for burgers and shakes

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Applications of Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture: a Mini-Review

Muhammad modassar ali nawaz ranjha.

1 Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

Bakhtawar Shafique

Waseem khalid.

2 Institute of Home and Food Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Hafiz Rehan Nadeem

3 Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Ghulam Mueen-ud-Din

Muhammad zubair khalid.

Biotechnology is a wide-ranging science that uses modern technologies to construct biological processes, organisms, cells or cellular components. The clinical new instruments, industry, and products developed by biotechnologists are useful in research, agriculture and other major fields. The biotechnology is as ancient as civilization. The food you buy, and the pets you love? Using artificial selection for crops, domesticated animals and other species, you may thank our distant ancestors for setting off the agrarian revolution. When Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics, and when Edward Jenner invented vaccines, the biotechnology potential was harnessed. And, of course, without the mechanisms of fermentation that gave us beer, wine and cheese, it would not be possible to imagine modern society. This article summarizes some of the applications of biotechnology in food & agriculture.

Graphical abstract

Applications of biotechnology in animal and plant sector

Introduction

Products from natural sources are being used from centuries [ 1 – 3 ]. Processing the natural products to get significant benefits have been the priority in every era of science [ 4 – 7 ]. Biotechnology is an advanced, yet developed, technology that develops or modifies a product for some applied purpose utilizing living organisms and/or substances from these. It can be extended to all organism genera, i.e., from less complicated genera like viruses and bacteria to more complicated genera like plants and animals. So, biotechnology has become a major feature of modern industry, agriculture and medicine. Modern biotechnology provides a number of methods that scientists use to recognize and control the genetic structure of species for use in agricultural product development or processing [ 8 ].

The implications of biotechnology includes, breeding of plants for raising and stabilizing yields by improving their ability to confront various pests, insects and other possible threats, to fight various conditions like drought and counter diseases that could attack and cold and soil acidity, biotechnology is also being applied for nutritional enhancement of various foods [ 9 , 10 ].

Disease-Free Plants

Disease-free plants are a very practical applications of biotechnology, these could be produced by micropropagation method. One of the examples of such plants is banana. Bananas are typically grown in countries where they emerge to be major source of income/employment and/or food. Micropropagation is a way to regenerate disease-free plantlets of bananas from tissues of healthy banana plants. It has all the possible benefits of being a revolutionary technique that is relatively inexpensive and easy to use [ 11 ].

Agriculture on acid soils

Lime can be applied to the soil to preserve the pH of the soil. This process emerges to be excellent but is expensive and temporary as well. Alternatively, it is possible to grow improved cultivars which are tolerant of aluminum [ 9 ].

Fortification of Crops

In developing countries or countries where there is a lot of shortage of food, fortified crops emerge to be an excellent food source which are supplemented with nutrients for rising malnourished children. One of the examples of such fortified crops is 'Protato'. This, genetically modified potato, is being widely cultivated and used in India and provides approximately one-third to one-half more protein than a common potato. In addition, this genetically modified potato also contains significant quantities of all essential amino acids, such as lysine and methionine. This 'Protato' could be a very potential food source in countries where potato is a major staple food [ 12 ]. Another example of such crops is golden rice. These genetically modified rice has a higher content of beta-carotene [ 13 ]. The grains and leaves of cowpeas are considered to be used as side or relish dishes. The cowpea is being consumed as staple food in various countries. The varieties of cowpeas with genetically modification has been grown in Tanzania [ 14 ]. The fortification of nutrients to enhance the nutritional status of crops, developed by genetically modified organisms with the major difference has been reported in Table ​ Table1 1 .

The GM crops with major nutritional difference from original crops breeding

Bt = Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis

Animal Feed

Genetically modified crops are practically being used in developed countries. Such kind of crops have a very significant potential to provide more nutrients than the normal [ 22 ].

Reproduction in Aquaculture

Biotechnology has emerged to have great practical applications in aquaculture, biotechnology has helped to maximize the growth and production in the aquaculture. Research is being continued in this field for better and harmless production of aquatic organisms suitable for human consumption [ 23 ].

Pest Resistant Crops

Pest attack is one of the very common problem in a number of different crops all around the globe, these crops may include fodder crops or other crops for the purpose of getting food. One the example of such crops is BT-Cotton. The genes of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a very common, are inserted in cotton crop in order for development of certain protein in it. The protein is very toxic to a number of different insects. With this aid of biotechnology, the developed BT-Cotton leads to a less pest attack ultimately leading to a significant more production [ 24 ].

Drought Resistant Crops

Targeted and short gun methods are two different two different but main techniques in genetic engineering. These techniques are applied in order to obtain transgenic plants that will possess the ability to confer drought resistance [ 10 ].

The prosperity of future is mainly based on the supply of equitable, secure, sustainable and affordable energy. Production of biofuel is one of the emerged trends in recent years. Biofuel could be an emerged and reliable substitute of fossil fuels. Six microalgae’s strains were photosynthetically produced in a photobioreactor. Among these six microalgae, the Chlorella vulgaris strain is most dominant for the production of biodiesel. The Chlorella vulgaris has been used as feedstock. The quality of biofuel and productivity of lipids could be measured as a criterion for the selection of species to produce biodiesel [ 25 ].

Vaccine Development

Biotechnology has developed potential platform for scientists to develop wide ranges of vaccine in cheap and reliable ways and in mass production for all scales [ 26 ].

Fermentation

Fermentation is a predominant process to synthesize breweries. At commercial level, several strains of yeast are being utilized for the production of breweries. The light wine can be made through the mechanism of genetic engineering. Foreign gene encoded with glucoamylase has enabled to modify yeast. The glucoamylase is expressed through yeast during the fermentation process by which conversion of starch into glucose has been reported [ 27 ]. The strains of yeast are used for synthesis of wine which are capable of initiating malolactic fermentation. Synthesis of wine is comprised of two steps: 1) Primary fermentation uses yeast to convert the glucose into alcohol. 2) Secondary fermentation results in the production of lactic acid with the maximum acidity level using bacteria. The costly divergent strategies are applied to overcome this issue. The malolactic gene such as Lactobacillus delbrueckii is inserted into the strain of industrial yeast to resolve this problem. This gene depresses the conversion of malate hence minimizing the wine acidity level [ 27 ].

Enzymes are specifically used in processing and production of different items of food at industrial level. In 20th century second last decade, companies are being using enzymes to process food. The production of food is done by developing the technique of producing organisms through genetically modification. These enzymes contain carbohydrases and proteases. The maximum production could be achieved by the cloning of genes for these in minimum time period. These enzymes are specifically used for producing curd, cheese and flavoring items of food. Maximum percentage of enzymes are used in the industry of food. The more than 50% quantities of carbohydrases and proteases are being utilized in the USA industry of food. These enzymes comprise of α-amylase and rennin [ 27 ].

Use of Biotechnology to Improve Yield

Milk is being consumed all over the world as a beneficial food with high nutritional value. The pituitary gland releases bovine Somatotropin hormone which increases the production of milk. Formerly, the calves were being slaughtered to extract this hormone from their brain. Nevertheless, that method results in the less hormone quantity. Scientists utilized Escherichia coli for the insertion of gene with encoded bovine Somatotropin in it. Now, this hormone results in the production of more quantity. This hormone obtains 10–12% increase in the production of milk. In 2050, the world’s population will be reported nine billion. Consequently, on the same land, higher yield will be required. Potentially, biotechnology is the best technology to combat various food yield problem [ 27 ]. The greater level of hunger and poverty is reported in Africa. The malnutrition and hunger causes consequences in the case of in diseases such as rickets and kwashiorkor. These diseases result higher deaths. Africa can get rid of starvation, diseases, malnutrition and hunger with maximumly potential usage of biotechnology. It can improve standard of health and decrease rate of mortality. Three countries of Africa: Egypt, South Africa and Burkina Faso have been already profited through biotechnological adaptation of numerous methods of cultivation. For instance, 0.1 million Burkina Faso’s farmers elevated the cotton yield by 126% with the potential use of GM technology of food. The technology of GM food is adopted which is required for the commercial system. It causes the products of GMO release, allergenicity tests, toxicity and digestivity of GM food. In that particular area, European Union and USA should assist Africa. Many countries of Africa deficient in the system of biosafety. African should develop biosafety laws and make sure their approval their as priority for the easily adoption of system. The deficiency of education is another obstacle in the technology of GM food’s adoption. Kenyan people are much concerned about technology of GM food as they made protest against it. The lack of education is the major factor of the adverse attitude of people of Kenya toward biotechnology of food. People should be aware of advantages and disadvantages of GM technology of food through conveyance of message in seminars by scientists [ 28 ].

Various juice of fruits possesses minimum shell life. For instance, tomato is being consumed all over the world. Tomatoes should be harvested at stage of mature green in order to transportation. They are exposed to ethylene for earlier ripening and then picking. The quick ripening of tomatoes is due to more temperatures although, their taste could be destroyed at low temperature. A company of California named Calgene engineered genetically tomato to resolve that problem. They produced Flavr Savr variety of tomatoes in order to sort out the issue. An enzyme which is named as polygalacturonase causes the breakdown of pectin to ensure ripening. Scientists modified genetically tomatoes to decrease the quantity of enzyme. Antisense RNA is used for that specific purpose [ 28 ]. Low quantity of that enzyme shows consequences in the case of breakdown of cell wall and pectin in stronger tomatoes. These Flavr Savr variety possess tomatoes of firmer quality with increased shell life and later support transport [ 29 ].

Biotechnology: Enhancing Taste

Scientists are using the method of biotechnology for the production of fruits with enhanced taste. GM foods with enhanced taste are comprise of eggplant, cherries, pepper, seedless watermelon and tomato etc. The seed are removed from these fruits which shows better consequences such as more content of sugar with soluble form increasing sweetness in fruits [ 30 ]. The pathways of fermentation are altered by utilizing biotechnology for the purpose to add flavor and aroma in wine [ 27 ].

Future Prospects

There is requirement of research work to disprove or prove the local scientists’ claims against GM food consumption. The layman should be questioned about potential dangers executed by GM food against human health and ecosystem, limited scientists can give response. Why is so?? Major reason is the lack of research associated to these areas. Consequently, GM food could be commercialized with the supreme confidence of scientists should to support food of GM technology and with making people argument about it.

The practical applications of biotechnology have merged to have helpful and safe production of sustained food. More research is recommended in the said field for better and safe production and processing technologies and techniques.

Acknowledgements

The authors have no acknowledgements to endorse.

Declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests.

Biotechnology is a wide-ranging science that uses modern technologies to construct biological processes, organisms, cells or cellular components. This article summarizes some of the social implications of biotechnology.

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Current research in biotechnology: Exploring the biotech forefront

2019, Current Research in Biotechnology

Biotechnology is an evolving research field that covers a broad range of topics. Here we aimed to evaluate the latest research literature, to identify prominent research themes, major contributors in terms of institutions, countries/re-gions, and journals. The Web of Science Core Collection online database was searched to retrieve biotechnology articles published since 2017. In total, 12,351 publications were identified and analyzed. Over 8500 institutions contributed to these biotechnology publications, with the top 5 most productive ones scattered over France, China, the United States of America, Spain, and Brazil. Over 140 countries/regions contributed to the biotechnology research literature, led by the United States of America, China, Germany, Brazil, and India. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineer-ing was the most productive journal in terms of number of publications. Metabolic engineering was among the most prevalent biotechnology study themes, and Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were frequently used in biotechnology investigations, including the biosynthesis of useful biomolecules, such as myo-inositol (vitamin B8), mono-terpenes, adipic acid, astaxanthin, and ethanol. Nanoparticles and nanotechnology were identified too as emerging biotechnology research themes of great significance. Biotechnology continues to evolve and will remain a major driver of societal innovation and development.

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Highly Variable Dietary RNAi Sensitivity Among Coleoptera

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High-efficiency retron-mediated single-stranded DNA production in plants

ABSTRACT Background: Retrons are a class of retroelements that produce multicopy single-stranded DNA (msDNA) and participate in anti-phage defenses in bacteria. Retrons have been harnessed for the over-production of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), genome engineering, and directed evolution in bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells. However, no studies have shown retron-mediated ssDNA production in plants, which could unlock potential applications in plant biotechnology. For example, ssDNA can be used as a template for homology-directed repair (HDR) in several organisms. However, current gene editing technologies rely on the physical delivery of synthetic ssDNA, which limits their applications. Main methods and major results: Here, we demonstrated retron-mediated over-production of ssDNA in Nicotiana benthamiana. Additionally, we tested different retron architectures for improved ssDNA production and identified a new retron architecture that resulted in greater ssDNA abundance. Furthermore, co-expression of the gene encoding the ssDNA-protecting protein VirE2 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens with the retron systems resulted in a 10.7-fold increase in ssDNA production in vivo. We also demonstrated CRISPR-retron-coupled ssDNA over-production and targeted HDR in N. benthamiana. Conclusion: We present an efficient approach for in vivo ssDNA production in plants, which can be harnessed for biotechnological applications.

Transcriptomic Changes in Internode Explants of Stinging Nettle during Callogenesis

Callogenesis, the process during which explants derived from differentiated plant tissues are subjected to a trans-differentiation step characterized by the proliferation of a mass of cells, is fundamental to indirect organogenesis and the establishment of cell suspension cultures. Therefore, understanding how callogenesis takes place is helpful to plant tissue culture, as well as to plant biotechnology and bioprocess engineering. The common herbaceous plant stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) is a species producing cellulosic fibres (the bast fibres) and a whole array of phytochemicals for pharmacological, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical use. Thus, it is of interest as a potential multi-purpose plant. In this study, callogenesis in internode explants of a nettle fibre clone (clone 13) was studied using RNA-Seq to understand which gene ontologies predominate at different time points. Callogenesis was induced with the plant growth regulators α-napthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP) after having determined their optimal concentrations. The process was studied over a period of 34 days, a time point at which a well-visible callus mass developed on the explants. The bioinformatic analysis of the transcriptomic dataset revealed specific gene ontologies characterizing each of the four time points investigated (0, 1, 10 and 34 days). The results show that, while the advanced stage of callogenesis is characterized by the iron deficiency response triggered by the high levels of reactive oxygen species accumulated by the proliferating cell mass, the intermediate and early phases are dominated by ontologies related to the immune response and cell wall loosening, respectively.

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