What
is Biotechnology City-Lucknow ?
Declaration of the "Biotechnology City - Lucknow" implies that the entire
city, is now gearing up for the growth of biotechnology in the city. The
network of educational and R&D institutions, UP unit of CII, Government
of Uttar Pradesh, and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Council of Scientific & Industrial
research (CSIR), India, are providing the core support for its establishment.
An industrial park, dovetailed for the establishment of biotechnology based
industry, along with infrastructure facilities and an exhibition hall that
will showcase the biotechnology expertise at Lucknow, is also being developed.
It signifies a new era of partnership among educational and R&D institutions
and industry, and serves as starting point for various innovative industrial
activities. It will also help researchers and technology innovators to find
partners, establish links with industries and granting agencies, and facilitate
technology transfer leading to National prosperity.
What
about the bioinformatic center at ITRC ?
As an integral part of 'Biotechnology City - Lucknow', a bioinformatic center
at ITRC has been created. It is maintaining the website www.biotechcitylucknow.org.
The site lists the strengths of the educational and R&D institutions
of Lucknow. Sections on Department of Biotechnology, UPSIDC, CII, biotechnology
policy of Uttar Pradesh, a biotechnology tutorial, patenting in India and
Lucknow city, along with others have also been included.
What
is bioinformatics ?
In simple terms, bioinformatics is the aplication of information sciences
to biology. This specialised stream of science deals with the creation and
maintenance of databases of biological information which includes such things
as nucleic acid sequences and protein sequences. It also includes the softwares
that are required for the detailed analysis of the genes and proteins e.g.
analysis of gene sequences for restriction sites and regulatory elements,
open reading frames, comparison with the genes from other sources, designing
of primers for PCR and hybridization studies, construction of three dimensional
proteins encoded by them, delineation of the functional domains etc.
What
is computational biology ?
Computational biology is a specialised area of bioinformatics that deals
with the analysis of information relating to nucleic acid and protein sequences.
It involves finding the genes in the DNA sequences of various organisms and
developing methods to predict the structure and function of newly discovered
proteins. Computational biology also deals with grouping protein sequences
into families of related sequences and aligning similar proteins to examine
evolutionary relationships.
What
is its importance of bioinformatics ?
The mapping of genomes is not an end in itself. This data can be used to
create new drugs, genetically altered foods and diagnostic kits. It is in
the creation of new drugs that the science of genomics holds the maximum
potential and bioinformatics provides the basic raw material for this. The
science helps researchers in identifying new targets for drugs to act on.
For instance, researchers trying to develop a better ACE inhibitor-can now
search genome databases for sequences that resemble the enzyme and subsequently
use that information to develop newer drugs.
What
is a genome ?
The genome contains all the genes that are necessary to build and copy living
beings. It is made of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) - the famous double
helix-shaped molecule - whose structure was discovered by Francis Crick and
James Watson in the Cavendish Labs in Cambridge, England in 1953. The DNA
is packed into long, dense fibres called chromosomes.
Only about 3 per cent of the genome contains genes that encode for the RNA
and proteins. The remaining 97 per cent of the genome contains `control regions'.
These include the switching systems which tell genes when to switch on or off.
Rest of the genome is packed with DNA about whose function scientists have
little clue today, and is also called `junk DNA'.
How
genes encode for RNA and proteins ?
The information in the genes is copied (transcription) to a close cousin
of DNA, called ribo-nucleic acid (RNA) and then used for the assembly of
the proteins (translation). These proteins are responsible for the structure
and function of the organisms.
What
is genomics all about ?
Study of the genome is called genomics. It includes a search for the genes
in the total three billion basic units of the DNA (nucleotides) that comprise
the human genome. In other words, the goal of genome research is to identify
the regions of the genome that make up genes and control regions from the
vast amounts of junk DNA.
Alongside this, the researchers want to know the function of each gene. For
example, which gene causes a particular cell to start multiplying ceaselessly,
causing cancer, why different people show different reactions to a given
situation etc. Once we understand these things, it will be possible to design
better drugs, safer chemicals, and also the tools for gene therapy.
What
is a genetically-modified food ?
Genetically-modified (GM) food, as the term implies, stands for food that
has its genetic make-up altered to display certain characteristics. The food,
generally a crop, contains one or more genes which have been artificially
inserted into the cell, e.g. for resist stance to pests, for tolerance to
adverse environments, for improving the nutrition quality, for the expression
of therapeutic agents etc. The inserted genetic material may be from another
plant or even from another source. Scientists refer to genetically modified
strains as 'transgenics' to indicate the presence of foreign genetic material
(transgene). Technically, transgenics is a more accurate term for GM foods
as even natural food have been genetically modified through selection and
controlled breeding.
How
is genetically-modified food made ?
The organism with the desired trait is selected and the genes responsible
for the trait are identified and cloned. Once it is cloned, it must be modified
by genetic engineers so that it expresses the desired trait in a particular
way in the plant. The new gene is introduced into the plant cell's nucleus
and is incorporated into the plant's own genetic material. whole plants are
obtained from the engineered tissue by growing the cells under controlled
environment. This process is known as tissue culture.
How
does genetically-modified differ from the earlier Green Revolution
?
In the late 1960s, researchers developed hybrids, which combined with newer
farming techniques and pesticides resulted in the production of strains of
crop that had higher yield and were resistant to certain diseases. This resulted
in the Green Revolution with a significant increase in food production helping
many countries, including India, become self-reliant in food. The green revolution
essentially relied on the traditional farming technique of selective breeding.
But the process of combining the best genes in one plant is tedious process.
It is also impossible to cross unrelated plants or plants and animals. But
genetic engineering can bring together a variety of genes in one living organism.
It is a powerful tool which expands the possibilities of creating better
crop varieties beyond the limitations of traditional techniques. For example,
a GM crop like bt corn, which contains a gene from a bacterium, produces
its own insecticide It is the insertion of genetic matter from other species,
i.e., species other than plants----known as jumping the species barrier---which
has made GM foods controversial and different from the Green Revolution.
Are
genetically-modified foods hazardous ?
Some GM foods may pose health risks when consumed. A few years ago. a project
to insert a brazil nut protein gene into soybean was halted when early tests
showed that people allergic to nuts reacted to the modified soy products.
Fears have also been expressed about the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)
promoter, which has been used in many transgenic crops. It is claimed that
the promoter might escape the normal digestive breakdown and insert itself
into a human chromosome where it could tum on the genes that otherwise remain
unexpressed. Some scientists however. refute it saying that the chain of
events that would be necessary for this to happen is unlikely, and that there
is no evidence that it occurs. Although in the US, where almost half of the
corn crop is GM, there is as yet no cases reported of anyone developing a
health problem from consuming GM crops, these crops should be released after
ensuring their safety to health and environment..
What are the regulations
governing genetically-modified foods ?
Across the world, the regulatory framework governing GM foods is still evolving.
Internationally, there have been a few developments that may regulate the
import and export of GM foods. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) members
have agreed on policies aimed at creating and maintaining free trade. Though
the WTO's position on transgenic food products has not been finalized, it
will be very important in regulating the future trade in transgenic crops.
About a year ago, a landmark agreement called International Biosafety Protocol
to regulate international trade of genetically modified organisms (GMO) was
approved by representatives of 130 countries. Its major components touch
upon labeling international shipments that may contain GM foods, establishing
a database to provide uniform information and establishing a regulating international
trade in GM crops.