The latest achievements in the field of biotechnology. What is biotechnology? Main directions and achievements

INTRODUCTION

1.1. General provisions

The Law of the Russian Federation “On Veterinary Medicine” defines the main tasks of veterinary medicine “in the field of scientific knowledge and practical activities aimed at preventing animal diseases and their treatment, producing complete and veterinarily safe animal products and protecting the population from diseases common to humans and animals "

A number of these problems are solved using biotechnology methods.

The definition of biotechnology is given quite fully by the European Biotechnology Federation, founded in 1978. According to this definition biotechnology is a science that, based on the application of knowledge in the field of microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, genetic engineering, immunology, chemical technology, instrument and mechanical engineering, uses biological objects (microorganisms, animal and plant tissue cells) or molecules (nucleic acids, proteins, enzymes) , carbohydrates, etc.) for the industrial production of substances and products useful for humans and animals.

Until the all-encompassing term "biotechnology" became generally accepted, names such as applied microbiology, applied biochemistry, enzyme technology, bioengineering, applied genetics, and applied biology were used to refer to the variety of technologies most closely related to biology.

The use of scientific achievements in biotechnology is carried out at the highest level of modern science. Only biotechnology makes it possible to obtain a variety of substances and compounds from relatively cheap, accessible and renewable materials.

Unlike natural substances and compounds, artificially synthesized ones require large investments, are poorly absorbed by animal and human organisms, and have a high cost.

Biotechnology uses microorganisms and viruses, which in the course of their life processes naturally produce the substances we need - vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, organic acids, alcohols, antibiotics and other biologically active compounds.

A living cell is superior to any plant in its organizational structure, coherence of processes, accuracy of results, efficiency and rationality.

Currently, microorganisms are used mainly in three types of biotechnological processes:

For biomass production;

To obtain metabolic products (for example, ethanol, antibiotics, organic acids, etc.);

For processing organic and inorganic compounds of both natural and anthropogenic origin.

The main task of the first type of process, which biotechnological production is called upon to solve today, is the elimination of protein deficiency in the feed of farm animals and birds, because In proteins of plant origin there is a deficiency of amino acids and, above all, especially valuable ones, the so-called essential ones.

The main direction of the second group of biotechnological processes is currently the production of microbial synthesis products using waste from various industries, including the food, oil and wood processing industries, etc.

Biotechnological processing of various chemical compounds is aimed mainly at ensuring ecological balance in nature, processing waste from human activities and maximizing the reduction of negative anthropogenic impact on nature.

On an industrial scale, biotechnology represents an industry in which the following sectors can be distinguished:

Production of polymers and raw materials for the textile industry;

Production of methanol, ethanol, biogas, hydrogen and their use in the energy and chemical industries;

Production of protein, amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, etc. through large-scale cultivation of yeast, algae, bacteria;

Increasing the productivity of agricultural plants and animals;

Obtaining herbicides and bioinsecticides;

Widespread introduction of genetic engineering methods in obtaining new animal breeds, plant varieties and growing tissue cell cultures of plant and animal origin;

Recycling of industrial and household waste, wastewater, production of composts using microorganisms;

Recycling of harmful emissions of oil, chemicals that pollute soil and water;

Production of therapeutic, preventive and diagnostic drugs (vaccines, serums, antigens, allergens, interferons, antibiotics, etc.).

Almost all biotechnological processes are closely related to the life activity of various groups of microorganisms - bacteria, viruses, yeast, microscopic fungi, etc., and have a number of characteristic features:

1. The process of microbial synthesis, as a rule, is part of a multi-stage production, and the target product of the biosynthesis stage is often not marketable and is subject to further processing.

2. When cultivating microorganisms, it is usually necessary to maintain aseptic conditions, which requires sterilization of equipment, communications, raw materials, etc.

3. Cultivation of microorganisms is carried out in heterogeneous systems, the physicochemical properties of which can change significantly during the process.

4. The technological process is characterized by high variability due to the presence of a biological object in the system, i.e. populations of microorganisms.

5. Complexity and multifactorial mechanisms of regulation of microbial growth and biosynthesis of metabolic products.

6. Complexity and, in most cases, lack of information about the qualitative and quantitative composition of production nutrient media.

7. Relatively low concentrations of target products.

8. The ability of the process to self-regulate.

9. Conditions optimal for the growth of microorganisms and for the biosynthesis of target products do not always coincide.

Microorganisms consume substances from the environment, grow, multiply, release liquid and gaseous metabolic products, thereby realizing those changes in the system (accumulation of biomass or metabolic products, consumption of pollutants) for the sake of which the cultivation process is carried out. Consequently, a microorganism can be considered as a central element of a biotechnological system, determining the efficiency of its functioning.

1.2. History of biotechnology development

Over the past 20 years, biotechnology, thanks to its specific advantages over other sciences, has made a decisive breakthrough to the industrial level, which is also due in no small part to the development of new research methods and intensification of processes that have opened up previously unknown opportunities in the production of biological products, methods of isolation, identification and purification biologically. active substances.

Biotechnology was formed and evolved as human society formed and developed. Its emergence, formation and development can be divided into 4 periods.

1. The empirical period or prehistoric is the longest, covering approximately 8000 years, of which more than 6000 BC. and about 2000 AD. The ancient peoples of that time intuitively used techniques and methods for making bread, beer and some other products that we now classify as biotechnological.

It is known that the Sumerians, the first inhabitants of Mesopotamia (in the territory of modern Iraq), created a civilization that flourished in those days. They baked bread from sour dough and mastered the art of brewing beer. The acquired experience was passed on from generation to generation, spreading among neighboring peoples (Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians and ancient Hindus). Vinegar has been known for several thousand years and has been prepared at home since ancient times. The first distillation in winemaking was carried out in the 12th century; vodka from cereals was first produced in the 16th century; champagne has been known since the 18th century.

The empirical period includes the production of fermented milk products, sauerkraut, honey alcoholic drinks, and silage of feed.

Thus, peoples from ancient times used biotechnological processes in practice without knowing anything about microorganisms. Empiricism was also characteristic of the practice of using useful plants and animals.

In 1796, the most important event in biology occurred - E. Jenner carried out the first cowpox vaccinations in humans in history.

2. The etiological period in the development of biotechnology covers the second half of the 19th century. and the first third of the 20th century. (1856 - 1933). He is associated with the outstanding research of the great French scientist L. Pasteur (1822 - 95) - the founder of scientific microbiology.

Pasteur established the microbial nature of fermentation, proved the possibility of life in oxygen-free conditions, created the scientific basis for vaccine prevention, etc.

During the same period, his outstanding students, collaborators and colleagues worked: E. Duclos, E. Roux, Sh.E. Chamberlan, I.I. Mechnikov; R. Koch, D. Lister, G. Ricketts, D. Ivanovsky and others.

In 1859, L. Pasteur prepared a liquid nutrient medium; in 1881, R. Koch proposed a method for cultivating bacteria on sterile potato slices and on agar nutrient media. And, as a consequence of this, it was possible to prove the individuality of microbes and obtain them in pure cultures. Moreover, each species could be propagated on nutrient media and used to reproduce the corresponding processes (fermentation, oxidation, etc.).

Among the achievements of the 2nd period, the following are especially worth noting:

1856 - Czech monk G. Mendel discovered the laws of dominance of traits and introduced the concept of a unit of heredity in the form of a discrete factor that is transmitted from parents to descendants;

1869 - F. Miler isolated “nuclein” (DNA) from leukocytes;

1883 - I. Mechnikov developed the theory of cellular immunity;

1984 - F. Leffler isolated and cultivated the causative agent of diphtheria;

1892 - D. Ivanovsky discovered viruses;

1893 - W. Ostwald established the catalytic function of enzymes;

1902 - G. Haberland showed the possibility of cultivating plant cells in nutrient solutions;

1912 - C. Neuberg discovered the mechanism of fermentation processes;

1913 - L. Michaelis and M. Menten developed the kinetics of enzymatic reactions;

1926 - H. Morgan formulated the chromosomal theory of heredity;

1928 - F. Griffith described the phenomenon of “transformation” in bacteria;

1932 - M. Knoll and E. Ruska invented the electron microscope.
During this period, the production of pressed food products began.

yeast, as well as products of their metabolism - acetone, butanol, citric and lactic acids, France began to create bio-installations for microbiological wastewater treatment.

However, the accumulation of a large mass of cells of the same age remained an extremely labor-intensive process. That is why a fundamentally different approach was required to solve many problems in the field of biotechnology.

3. Biotechnical period - began in 1933 and lasted until 1972.

In 1933 A. Kluyver and A.H. Perkin published the work “Methods for studying metabolism in molds,” in which they outlined the basic technical techniques, as well as approaches to assessing the results obtained during deep cultivation of fungi. The introduction of large-scale sealed equipment into biotechnology has begun, ensuring processes are carried out under sterile conditions.

A particularly powerful impetus in the development of industrial biotechnological equipment was noted during the period of formation and development of the production of antibiotics (during the Second World War, 1939-1945, when there was an urgent need for antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of patients with infected wounds).

Everything progressive in the field of biotechnological and technical disciplines achieved by that time was reflected in biotechnology:

1936 - the main tasks of designing, creating and putting into practice the necessary equipment were solved, including the main one - the bioreactor (fermenter, cultivator);

1942 - M. Delbrück and T. Anderson first saw viruses using an electron microscope;

1943 - penicillin was produced on an industrial scale;

1949 - J. Lederberg discovered the process of conjugation in E.colly;

1950 - J. Monod developed the theoretical foundations of continuous controlled cultivation of microbes, which were developed in their research by M. Stephenson, I. Molek, M. Ierusalimsky,
I. Rabotnova, I. Pomozova, I. Basnakyan, V. Biryukov;

1951 - M. Theiler developed a vaccine against yellow fever;

1952 - W. Hayes described the plasmid as an extrachromosomal factor of heredity;

1953 - F. Crick and J. Watson deciphered the structure of DNA. This has been the impetus for the development of methods for large-scale cultivation of cells of various origins to obtain cellular products and cells themselves;

1959 - Japanese scientists discovered antibiotic resistance plasmids (K-factor) in dysentery bacteria;

1960 - S. Ochoa and A. Kornberg isolated proteins that can “cross-link” or “glue” nucleotides into polymer chains, thereby synthesizing DNA macromolecules. One such enzyme was isolated from Escherichia coli and named DNA polymerase;

1961 - M. Nirenberg read the first three letters of genetic
code for the amino acid phenylalanine;

1962 - X. Korana chemically synthesized a functional gene;

1969 - M. Beckwith and S. Shapiro isolated the 1ac operon gene in E.colly;

- 1970 - restriction enzyme (restriction endonuclease) was isolated.

4. The genetic engineering period began in 1972, when P. Berg created the first recombination of a DNA molecule, thereby demonstrating the possibility of targeted manipulation of the genetic material of bacteria.

Naturally, without the fundamental work of F. Crick and J. Watson to establish the structure of DNA, it would have been impossible to achieve modern results in the field of biotechnology. Elucidation of the mechanisms of functioning and DNA replication, isolation and study of specific enzymes led to the formation of a strictly scientific approach to the development of biotechnical processes based on genetic engineering manipulations.

The creation of new research methods was a necessary prerequisite for the development of biotechnology in the 4th period:

1977 - M. Maxam and W. Gilbert developed a method for analyzing the primary structure of DNA by chemical degradation, and J. Sanger
- by polymerase copying using terminating nucleotide analogues;

1981 - the first diagnostic kit of monoclonal antibodies is approved for use in the USA;

1982 - human insulin produced by Escherichia coli cells went on sale; a vaccine for animals obtained using technology has been approved for use in European countries
recombinant DNA; genetically engineered interferons, tumor necrotizing factor, interleukin-2, human somatotropic hormone, etc. have been developed;

1986 - K. Mullis developed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method;

1988 - large-scale production of equipment and diagnostic kits for PCR began;

1997 - The first mammal (Dolly the sheep) was cloned from a differentiated somatic cell.

Such outstanding domestic scientists as L.S. Tsenkovsky, S.N. Vyshelessky, M.V. Likhachev, N.N. Ginzburg, S.G. Kolesov, Ya.R. Kolyakov, R.V. Petrov, V.V. Kafarov and others made an invaluable contribution to the development of biotechnology.

The most important achievements of biotechnology in the 4th period:

1. Development of intensive processes (instead of extensive ones) based on targeted, fundamental research (with producers of antibiotics, enzymes, amino acids, vitamins).

2. Obtaining super-producers.

3. Creation of various products necessary for humans based on genetic engineering technologies.

4. Creation of unusual organisms that did not previously exist in nature.

5. Development and implementation of special equipment for biotechnological systems.

6. Automation and computerization of biotechnological production processes with maximum use of raw materials and minimal energy consumption.

The above achievements of biotechnology are currently being implemented in the national economy and will be put into practice in the next 10-15 years. In the foreseeable future, new cornerstones of biotechnology will be defined and new discoveries and advances await us.

1.3. Biosystems, objects and methods in biotechnology

One of the terms in biotechnology is the concept of “biosystem”. The generalized characteristics of a biological (living) system can be reduced to three main features inherent in them:

1. Living systems are heterogeneous open systems that exchange substances and energy with the environment.

2. These systems are self-governing, self-regulating, interactive, i.e. capable of exchanging information with the environment to maintain their structure and control metabolic processes.

3. Living systems are self-reproducing (cells, organisms).

According to their structure, biosystems are divided into elements (subsystems) interconnected and characterized by a complex organization (atoms, molecules, organelles, cells, organisms, populations, communities).

Control in a cell is a combination of the processes of synthesis of protein-enzyme molecules necessary to carry out a particular function, and continuous processes of changes in activity during the interaction of triplet DNA codes in the nucleus and macromolecules in ribosomes. Strengthening and inhibition of enzymatic activity occurs depending on the amount of initial and final products of the corresponding biochemical reactions. Thanks to this complex organization, biosystems differ from all nonliving objects.

The behavior of a biosystem is the totality of its reactions in response to external influences, i.e. The most common task of the control systems of living organisms is to preserve its energy basis under changing environmental conditions.

N.M. Amosov divides all biosystems into five hierarchical levels of complexity: unicellular organisms, multicellular organisms, populations, biogeocenosis and biosphere.

Single-celled organisms include viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The functions of unicellular organisms are the exchange of matter and energy with the environment, growth and division, reactions to external stimuli in the form of changes in metabolism and form of movement. All functions of unicellular organisms are supported through biochemical processes of an enzymatic nature and through energy metabolism - from the method of obtaining energy to the synthesis of new structures or the breakdown of existing ones. The only mechanism of unicellular organisms that ensures their adaptation to the environment is the mechanism of changes in individual DNA genes and, as a consequence, changes in enzyme proteins and changes in biochemical reactions.

The basis of a systematic approach to the analysis of the structure of biosystems is its representation in the form of two components - energy and control.

In Fig. 1. shows a generalized schematic diagram of energy and information flows in any biosystem. The main element is the energy component, designated through MS (metabolic system), and the control component, designated through P (genetic and physiological control) and transmitting control signals to effectors (E). One of the main functions of the metabolic system is to supply biosystems with energy.

Rice. 1. Flows of energy and information in the biosystem.

The structure of biosystems is maintained by genetic control mechanisms. Receiving energy and information from other systems in the form of metabolic products (matabolites), and during the period of formation - in the form of hormones, the genetic system controls the process of synthesis of necessary substances and supports the vital activity of other body systems, and the processes in this system proceed rather slowly.

Despite the diversity of biosystems, the relationships between their biological properties remain invariant for all organisms. In a complex system, the possibilities for adaptation are much greater than in a simple one. In a simple system, these functions are provided by a small number of mechanisms, and they are more sensitive to changes in the external environment.

Biosystems are characterized by qualitative heterogeneity, which manifests itself in the fact that within the same functional biosystem, subsystems with qualitatively different adequate control signals (chemical, physical, informational) work together and harmoniously.

The hierarchy of biosystems is manifested in the gradual complication of a function at one level of the hierarchy and an abrupt transition to a qualitatively different function at the next level of the hierarchy, as well as in the specific construction of various biosystems, their analysis and control in such a sequence that the final output function of the underlying hierarchy level is included as an element to the higher level.

Constant adaptation to the environment and evolution are impossible without the unity of two opposing properties: structural-functional organization and structural-functional probability, stochasticity and variability.

Structural and functional organization manifests itself at all levels of biosystems and is characterized by high stability of the biological species and its form. At the level of macromolecules, this property is ensured by the replication of macromolecules, at the cell level - by division, at the level of the individual and population - by the reproduction of individuals through reproduction.

As biological objects or systems that biotechnology uses, it is first necessary to name unicellular microorganisms, as well as animal and plant cells. The choice of these objects is determined by the following points:

1. Cells are a kind of “biofactories” that produce various valuable products during their life: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, nucleic acids, amino acids, antibiotics, hormones, antibodies, antigens, enzymes, alcohols, etc. Many of these products extremely necessary in human life, are not yet available for production by “non-biotechnological” methods due to the scarcity or high cost of raw materials
or the complexity of technological processes;

2. Cells reproduce extremely quickly. Thus, a bacterial cell divides every 20 - 60 minutes, a yeast cell divides every 1.5 - 2 hours, an animal cell divides every 24 hours, which makes it possible to artificially increase huge amounts of biomass on an industrial scale in a relatively short time on relatively cheap and non-deficient nutrient media microbial, animal or plant cells. For example, in a bioreactor with a capacity of 100 m 3, 10" 6 - 10 18 microbial cells can be grown in 2 - 3 days. During the life of the cells, when they are grown, a large amount of valuable products enters the environment, and the cells themselves are storehouses of these products;

3. Biosynthesis of complex substances such as proteins, antibiotics, antigens, antibodies, etc. is much more economical and technologically accessible than chemical synthesis. At the same time, the initial raw materials for biosynthesis are, as a rule, simpler and more accessible than raw materials for other
types of synthesis. For biosynthesis, waste from agricultural, fishery, food industry, plant raw materials (whey, yeast, wood, molasses, etc.) is used.

4. The possibility of carrying out the biotechnological process on an industrial scale, i.e. availability of appropriate technological equipment, availability of raw materials, processing technologies, etc.

Thus, nature has given researchers a living system that contains and synthesizes unique components, and, first of all, nucleic acids, with the discovery of which biotechnology and world science as a whole began to rapidly develop.

Objects of biotechnology are viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoal organisms, cells (tissues) of plants, animals and humans, substances of biological origin (for example, enzymes, prostaglandins, lectins, nucleic acids), molecules.

In this regard, we can say that biotechnology objects relate either to microorganisms or to plant and animal cells. In turn, the body can be characterized as a system of economical, complex, compact, targeted synthesis, steadily and actively proceeding with optimal maintenance of all necessary parameters.

The methods used in biotechnology are determined at two levels: cellular and molecular. Both are determined by bi-objects.

In the first case, they deal with bacterial cells (for the production of vaccine preparations), actinomycetes (for the production of antibiotics), micromycetes (for the production of citric acid), animal cells (for the production of antiviral vaccines), human cells (for the production of interferon), etc.

In the second case, they deal with molecules, for example, nucleic acids. However, in the final stage, the molecular level is transformed into the cellular level. Animal and plant cells, microbial cells in the process of life activity (assimilation and dissimilation) form new products and secrete metabolites of various physical and chemical composition and biological effects.

As a cell grows, a huge number of enzyme-catalyzed reactions occur in it, resulting in the formation of intermediate compounds, which in turn are converted into cell structures. Intermediate compounds, building blocks, include 20 amino acids, 4 ribonucleotides, 4 deoxyribonucleotides, 10 vitamins, monosaccharides, fatty acids, and hexosamines. From these “bricks” “blocks” are built: approximately 2000 proteins, DNA, three types of RNA, polysaccharides, lipids, enzymes. The resulting “blocks” are used for the construction of cellular structures: nucleus, ribosomes, membrane, cell wall, mitochondria, flagella, etc., which make up the cell.

At each stage of the “biological synthesis” of a cell, it is possible to identify those products that can be used in biotechnology.

Typically, unicellular products are divided into 4 categories:

a) the cells themselves as a source of the target product. For example, grown bacteria or viruses are used to produce live or killed corpuscular vaccines; yeast, as feed protein or the basis for obtaining hydrolysates of nutrient media, etc.;

b) large molecules that are synthesized by cells during the growing process: enzymes, toxins, antigens, antibodies, peptidoglycans, etc.;

c) primary metabolites - low molecular weight substances (less than 1500 daltons) necessary for cell growth, such as amino acids, vitamins, nucleotides, organic acids;

d) secondary metabolites (idiolites) - low molecular weight compounds that are not required for cell growth: antibiotics, alkaloids, toxins, hormones.

All microobjects used in biotechnology are classified as akaryotes, pro- or eukaryotes. From the group of eukaryotes, for example, it operates as biological objects with the cells of protozoa, algae and fungi, from the group of prokaryotes - with the cells of blue-green algae and bacteria, and akaryotes - with viruses.

Biological objects from the microcosm vary in size from nanometers (viruses, bacteriophages) to millimeters and centimeters (giant algae) and are characterized by a relatively fast reproduction rate. In the modern pharmaceutical industry, a gigantic range of biological objects is used, the grouping of which is very complex and can best be done on the basis of the principle of their proportionality.

A huge set of bio-objects does not exhaust the entire elemental base with which biotechnology operates. Recent advances in biology and genetic engineering have led to the emergence of completely new biological objects - transgenic (genetically modified) bacteria, viruses, fungi, plant, animal, human cells and chimeras.

Although members of all superkingdoms contain genetic material, different akaryotes lack any one type of nucleic acid (RNA or DNA). They are not able to function (including replicate) outside a living cell, and, therefore, it is legitimate to call them nuclear-free. Virus parasitism develops at the genetic level.

With a targeted examination of various ecological niches, more and more new groups of microorganisms producing useful substances are identified that can be used in biotechnology. The number of microorganism species used in biotechnology is constantly growing.

When choosing a biological object, in all cases the principle of manufacturability must be observed. Thus, if during numerous cultivation cycles the properties of a biological object are not preserved or undergo significant changes, then this biological object should be considered low-tech, i.e. unacceptable for technological developments following the stage of laboratory research.

With the development of biotechnology, specialized banks of biological objects become of great importance, in particular collections of microorganisms with studied properties, as well as cryobanks of animal and plant cells, which can already now, using special methods, be successfully used to construct new organisms useful for biotechnology. In fact, such specialized crop banks are responsible for preserving an extremely valuable gene pool.

Culture collections play an important role in the legal protection of new crops and in the standardization of biotechnological processes. The collections carry out the preservation, maintenance and provision of microorganisms with strains, plasmids, phages, cell lines for both scientific and applied research, and for relevant production. Culture collections, in addition to their main task - ensuring the viability and preservation of the genetic properties of strains - contribute to the development of scientific research (in the field of taxonomy, cytology, physiology), and also serve educational purposes. They perform an indispensable function as depositories of patented strains. According to international rules, not only effective producers, but also crops used in genetic engineering can be patented and deposited.

Scientists pay great attention to the purposeful creation of new biological objects that do not exist in nature. First of all, it should be noted the creation of new cells of microorganisms, plants, animals using genetic engineering methods. The creation of new biological objects, of course, is facilitated by the improvement of legal protection of inventions in the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology in general. A direction has been formed that deals with the construction of artificial cells. Currently, there are methods that make it possible to obtain artificial cells using various synthetic and biological materials, for example, an artificial cell membrane with a given permeability and surface properties. Some materials can be contained inside such cells: enzyme systems, cell extracts, biological cells, magnetic materials, isotopes, antibodies, antigens, hormones, etc. The use of artificial cells has yielded positive results in the production of interferons and monoclonal antibodies, in the creation of immunosorbents, etc.

Approaches to the creation of artificial enzymes and enzyme analogues with increased stability and activity are being developed. For example, the synthesis of polypeptides of the desired stereoconfiguration is carried out, and methods of targeted mutagenesis are being searched for in order to replace one amino acid with another in the enzyme molecule. Attempts are being made to construct nonenzymatic catalytic models.

The following groups of biological objects should be identified as the most promising:

Recombinants, i.e. organisms obtained by genetic engineering;

Plant and animal tissue cells;

Thermophilic microorganisms and enzymes;

Anaerobic organisms;

Associations for the transformation of complex substrates;

Immobilized biological objects.

The process of artificially creating a biological object (microorganism, or tissue cell) consists of changing its genetic information in order to eliminate undesirable and enhance the desired properties or give it completely new qualities. The most targeted changes can be made through recombination - redistributing genes or parts of genes and combining genetic information from two or more organisms in one organism. The production of recombinant organisms, in particular, can be achieved by protoplast fusion, by transfer of natural plasmids and by genetic engineering methods.

At this stage of biotechnology development, non-traditional biological agents include plant and animal tissue cells, including hybridomas and transplants. Mammalian cell cultures are already producing interferon and viral vaccines; in the near future, large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies, surface antigens of human cells, and angiogenic factors will be realized.

With the development of biotechnology methods, increasing attention will be paid to the use of thermophilic microorganisms and their enzymes.

Enzymes produced by thermophilic microorganisms are characterized by thermal stability and higher resistance to denaturation compared to enzymes from mesophiles. Carrying out biotechnological processes at elevated temperatures using enzymes from thermophilic microorganisms has a number of advantages:

1) the reaction speed increases;

2) the solubility of reagents increases and, due to this, the productivity of the process;

3) the possibility of microbial contamination of the reaction medium is reduced.

There is a resurgence in biotechnological processes using anaerobic microorganisms, which are often also thermophilic. Anaerobic processes attract the attention of researchers due to the lack of energy and the possibility of producing biogas. Since anaerobic cultivation does not require aeration of the environment and biochemical processes are less intense, the heat removal system is simplified, anaerobic processes can be considered energy-saving.

Anaerobic microorganisms are successfully used to process waste (plant biomass, food industry waste, household waste, etc.) and wastewater (domestic and industrial wastewater, manure) into biogas.

In recent years, the use of mixed cultures of microorganisms and their natural associations has been expanding. In a real biological situation in nature, microorganisms exist in the form of communities of different populations, closely connected with each other and carrying out the circulation of substances in nature.

The main advantages of mixed crops compared to monocultures are as follows:

The ability to utilize complex, heterogeneous substrates, often unsuitable for monocultures;

Ability to mineralize complex organic compounds;

Increased ability for biotransformation of organic substances;

Increased resistance to toxic substances, including heavy metals;

Increased resistance to environmental influences;

Increased productivity;

Possible exchange of genetic information between individual species of the community.

Particular attention should be paid to such a group of biological objects as enzyme-catalysts of biological origin, the study of which in the applied aspect is carried out by engineering enzymology. Its main task is the development of biotechnological processes that use the catalytic action of enzymes, usually isolated from biological systems or located inside cells artificially deprived of the ability to grow. Thanks to enzymes, the rate of reactions compared to reactions occurring in the absence of these catalysts increases by 10 b - 10 12 times.

Immobilized biological objects should be distinguished as a separate branch of the creation and use of biological objects. An immobilized object is a harmonious system, the action of which is generally determined by the correct selection of three main components: a biological object, a carrier, and a method of binding the object to the carrier.

The following groups of methods for mobilizing biological objects are mainly used:

Inclusion in gels, microcapsules;

Adsorption on insoluble carriers;

Covalent binding to the carrier;

Cross-linking with bifunctional reagents without using a carrier;

- “self-aggregation” in the case of intact cells.

The main advantages of using immobilized biological objects are:

High activity;

Ability to control the agent’s microenvironment;

the possibility of complete and rapid separation of target products;

Possibility of organizing continuous processes with repeated use of an object.

As follows from the above, in biotechnological processes it is possible to use a number of biological objects characterized by different levels of complexity of biological regulation, for example, cellular, subcellular, molecular. The approach to creating the entire biotechnological system as a whole directly depends on the characteristics of a particular biological object.

As a result of fundamental biological research, knowledge about nature and, thereby, about the possibilities of applied use of a particular biological system as an active principle of a biotechnological process is deepened and expanded. The set of biological objects is constantly updated.

1.4. Main directions of development of methodsbiotechnology in veterinary medicine

Over the past 40 - 50 years, most sciences have developed in leaps and bounds, which has led to a complete revolution in the production of veterinary and medical biological products, the creation of transgenic plants and animals with specified unique properties. Such research is a priority area of ​​scientific and technological progress in the 21st century. will take a leading place among all sciences.

Even a simple listing of the commercial forms of biological products indicates the unlimited possibilities of biotechnology. However, this important issue deserves some detail.

In our view, the capabilities of biotechnology are particularly impressive in three main areas.

The first is large-scale production of microbial protein for feed purposes (initially based on wood hydrolysates, and then based on petroleum hydrocarbons).

An important role is played by the production of essential amino acids necessary for a balanced amino acid composition of feed additives.

In addition to feed protein, amino acids, vitamins and other feed additives that increase the nutritional value of feed, the possibilities of mass production and use of viral and bacterial preparations for the prevention of diseases of birds and farm animals, for the effective control of pests of agricultural plants, are rapidly expanding. Microbiological preparations, unlike many chemical ones, have a highly specific effect on harmful insects and phytopathogenic microorganisms; they are harmless to humans and animals, birds and beneficial insects. Along with the direct destruction of pests during the treatment period, they act on the offspring, reducing their fertility, and do not cause the formation of resistant forms of harmful organisms.

The potential of biotechnology in the production of enzyme preparations for the processing of agricultural raw materials and the creation of new feed for livestock is enormous.

The second direction is developments in the interests of the development of biological science, healthcare and veterinary medicine. Based on the achievements of genetic engineering and molecular biology, biotechnology can provide healthcare with highly effective vaccines and antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, interferon, vitamins, amino acids, as well as enzymes and other biological products for research and therapeutic purposes. Some of these drugs are already successfully used not only in scientific experiments, but also in practical medicine and veterinary medicine.

Finally, the third direction is developments for industry. Already today, the products of biotechnological production are consumed or used by the food and light industry (enzymes), metallurgy (the use of certain substances in the processes of flotation, precision casting, precision rolling), the oil and gas industry (the use of a number of preparations for the complex processing of plant and microbial biomass when drilling wells, during selective cleaning, etc.), rubber and paint and varnish industry (improving the quality of synthetic rubber through certain protein additives), as well as a number of other industries.

Actively developing areas of biotechnology include bioelectronics and bioelectrochemistry, bionics, and nanotechnology, which use either biological systems or the operating principles of such systems.

Enzyme-containing sensors are widely used in scientific research. Based on them, a number of devices have been developed, for example, cheap, accurate and reliable instruments for analysis. Bioelectronic immunosensors are also appearing, and some of them use the field effect of transistors. Based on them, it is planned to create relatively cheap devices capable of determining and maintaining at a given level the concentration of a wide range of substances in body fluids, which could cause a revolution in biological diagnostics.

Achievements of veterinary biotechnology. In Russia, biotechnology as a science began to develop in 1896. The impetus was the need to create preventive and therapeutic agents against diseases such as anthrax, rinderpest, rabies, foot-and-mouth disease, and trichinosis. At the end of the 19th century. Every year more than 50 thousand animals and 20 thousand people died from anthrax. For 1881 - 1906 3.5 million cows died from the plague. Significant damage was caused by glanders, which killed horses and people.

The successes of domestic veterinary science and practice in carrying out specific prevention of infectious diseases are associated with major scientific discoveries made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This concerned the development and introduction into veterinary practice of preventive and diagnostic drugs for quarantine and especially dangerous animal diseases (vaccines against anthrax, plague, rabies, allergens for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, glanders, etc.). The possibility of preparing therapeutic and diagnostic hyperimmune serums has been scientifically proven.

This period marks the actual organization of an independent biological industry in Russia.

Since 1930, the existing veterinary bacteriological laboratories and institutes in Russia began to expand significantly, and on their basis, the construction of large biological factories and bioprocessing plants for the production of vaccines, serums, and diagnostics for veterinary purposes began. During this period, technological processes, scientific and technological documentation, as well as uniform methods (standards) for the production, control and use of drugs in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine are developed.

In the 30s, the first factories were built to produce feed yeast from wood hydrolysates, agricultural waste and sulfite liquors under the leadership of V.N. Shaposhnikov. The technology for microbiological production of acetone and butanol has been successfully introduced (Fig. 2).

His teaching on the two-phase nature of fermentation played a major role in creating the foundations of domestic biotechnology. In 1926, the bioenergetic patterns of hydrocarbon oxidation by microorganisms were studied in the USSR. In subsequent years, biotechnological developments were widely used in our country to expand the “range” of antibiotics for medicine and animal husbandry, enzymes, vitamins, growth substances, and pesticides.

Since the creation of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for the Biosynthesis of Protein Substances in 1963, large-scale production of protein-rich microbial biomass as feed has been established in our country.

In 1966, the microbiological industry was separated into a separate industry and the Main Directorate of the Microbiological Industry under the Council of Ministers of the USSR - Glavmicrobioprom - was created.

Since 1970, intensive research has been carried out in our country on the selection of microorganism cultures for continuous cultivation for industrial purposes.

Soviet researchers became involved in the development of genetic engineering methods in 1972. It should be noted that the “Revertase” project was successfully implemented in the USSR - the production of the “reverse transcriptase” enzyme on an industrial scale.

The development of methods for studying the structure of proteins, elucidation of the mechanisms of functioning and regulation of enzyme activity opened the way to targeted modification of proteins and led to the birth of engineering enzymology. Highly stable immobilized enzymes are becoming a powerful tool for catalytic reactions in various industries.

All these achievements have brought biotechnology to a new level, qualitatively different from the previous one with the ability to consciously control cellular biosynthesis processes.

During the years of formation of the industrial production of biological drugs in our country, significant qualitative changes have occurred in biotechnological methods for their production:

Research has been carried out to obtain persistent, hereditarily fixed, avirulent strains of microorganisms from which live vaccines are prepared;

New nutrient media have been developed for the cultivation of microorganisms, including those based on hydrolysates and extracts from non-food raw materials;

High-quality whey nutrient media for Leptospira and other difficult-to-cultivate microorganisms have been obtained;

A deep reactor method has been developed for cultivating many types of bacteria, fungi and some viruses;

New strains and cell lines sensitive to many viruses have been obtained, which has enabled the preparation and production of standard and more active antiviral vaccines;

All production processes are mechanized and automated;

Modern methods for concentrating microbial cultures and freeze-drying biological products have been developed and introduced into production;

Energy costs per unit of production have been reduced, the quality of biological products has been standardized and improved;

The culture of production of biological products has been improved.

Paying great attention to the development of veterinary biological products for the prevention, diagnosis of infectious diseases and treatment of sick animals, our country is constantly working to improve industrial technology and master the production of more effective, cheaper and standard drugs. The main requirements are:

Using global experience;

Saving resources;

Preservation of production areas;

Purchase and installation of modern equipment and technological lines;

Conducting scientific research on the development and discovery of new types of bioproducts, new and cheap recipes for the preparation of nutrient media;

Finding more active strains of microorganisms in relation to their antigenic, immunogenic and productive properties.

Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after. K.I. Skryabian"

Abstract on biotechnology

"Lecture No. 1"

Work completed

FVM student

4 courses, 11 groups

Gordon Maria

The discipline that studies how organisms are used to solve technological problems is what biotechnology is. Simply put, it is a science that studies living organisms in search of new ways to meet human needs. For example, genetic engineering or cloning are new disciplines that use both organisms and the latest computer technologies with equal activity.

Biotechnology: in brief

Very often the concept of “biotechnology” is confused with genetic engineering, which arose in the 20th–21st centuries, but biotechnology refers to a broader specificity of work. Biotechnology specializes in modifying plants and animals through hybridization and artificial selection for human needs.

This discipline has given humanity the opportunity to improve the quality of food products, increase life expectancy and productivity of living organisms - that is what biotechnology is.

Until the 70s of the last century, this term was used exclusively in the food industry and agriculture. It wasn't until the 1970s that scientists began using the term "biotechnology" in laboratory research, such as growing living organisms in test tubes or creating recombinant DNA. This discipline is based on sciences such as genetics, biology, biochemistry, embryology, as well as robotics, chemical and information technologies.

Based on new scientific and technological approaches, biotechnology methods have been developed, which consist of two main positions:

• Large-scale and deep cultivation of biological objects in a periodic continuous mode.
• Growing cells and tissues under special conditions.

New biotechnology methods make it possible to manipulate genes, create new organisms, or change the properties of existing living cells. This makes it possible to more extensively use the potential of organisms and facilitates human economic activity.

History of biotechnology

No matter how strange it may sound, biotechnology takes its origins from the distant past, when people were just beginning to engage in winemaking, baking and other methods of cooking. For example, the biotechnological process of fermentation, in which microorganisms actively participated, was known back in ancient Babylon, where it was widely used.

Biotechnology began to be considered as a science only at the beginning of the 20th century. Its founder was the French scientist, microbiologist Louis Pasteur, and the term itself was first introduced into use by the Hungarian engineer Karl Ereki (1917). The 20th century was marked by the rapid development of molecular biology and genetics, where the achievements of chemistry and physics were actively used. One of the key stages of the research was the development of methods for culturing living cells. Initially, only fungi and bacteria began to be grown for industrial purposes, but after several decades, scientists can create any cells, completely controlling their development.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the fermentation and microbiological industries actively developed. At this time, the first attempts were made to establish the production of antibiotics. The first food concentrates are being developed, and the level of enzymes in products of animal and plant origin is being monitored. In 1940, scientists managed to obtain the first antibiotic - penicillin. This became the impetus for the development of industrial production of drugs; an entire branch of the pharmaceutical industry emerged, which represents one of the cells of modern biotechnology.

Today, biotechnologies are used in the food industry, medicine, agriculture and many other areas of human activity. Accordingly, many new scientific directions with the prefix “bio” have appeared.

Bioengineering

When asked what biotechnology is, the majority of the population will no doubt answer that it is nothing more than genetic engineering. This is partly true, but engineering is only part of the broad discipline of biotechnology.

Bioengineering is a discipline whose main activity is aimed at improving human health by combining knowledge from the fields of engineering, medicine, biology and applying them in practice. The full name of this discipline is biomedical engineering. Her main specialization is solving medical problems. The use of biotechnology in medicine makes it possible to model, develop and study new substances, develop pharmaceuticals, and even save a person from congenital diseases that are transmitted through DNA. Specialists in this field can create devices and equipment to carry out new procedures. Thanks to the use of biotechnology in medicine, artificial joints, pacemakers, skin prostheses, and heart-lung machines have been developed. With the help of new computer technologies, bioengineers can create proteins with new properties using computer simulations.

Biomedicine and pharmacology

The development of biotechnology has made it possible to look at medicine in a new way. By developing a theoretical basis about the human body, specialists in this field have the opportunity to use nanotechnology to change biological systems. The development of biomedicine has given impetus to the emergence of nanomedicine, the main activity of which is to monitor, correct and design living systems at the molecular level. For example, targeted delivery of medicines. This is not a courier delivery from a pharmacy to your home, but a transfer of the drug directly to the diseased cell of the body.

Biopharmacology is also developing. It studies the effects that substances of biological or biotechnological origin have on the body. Research in this area of ​​knowledge focuses on the study of biopharmaceuticals and the development of methods for their creation. In biopharmacology, therapeutic agents are obtained from living biological systems or body tissues.

Bioinformatics and bionics

But biotechnology is not only the study of molecules of tissues and cells of living organisms, it is also the application of computer technology. Thus, bioinformatics takes place. It includes a set of approaches such as:

• Genomic bioinformatics. That is, computer analysis methods that are used in comparative genomics.
• Structural bioinformatics. Development of computer programs that predict the spatial structure of proteins.
• Calculation. Creating computational methodologies that can control biological systems.

In this discipline, methods of mathematics, statistical computing and computer science are used together with biological methods. Just as in biology the techniques of computer science and mathematics are used, so in the exact sciences today they can use the doctrine of the organization of living organisms. Like in bionics. This is an applied science where the principles and structures of living nature are used in technical devices. We can say that this is a kind of symbiosis of biology and technology. Disciplinary approaches in bionics look at both biology and technology from a new perspective. Bionics looked at the similarities and differences between these disciplines. This discipline has three subtypes - biological, theoretical and technical. Biological bionics studies the processes that occur in biological systems. Theoretical bionics builds mathematical models of biosystems. And technical bionics applies the developments of theoretical bionics to solve various problems.

As you can see, the achievements of biotechnology are widespread in modern medicine and healthcare, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. As already mentioned, biotechnology began to develop from the moment a person began to prepare his own food, and after that it was widely used in agriculture for growing new breeding crops and breeding new breeds of domestic animals.

Cell engineering

One of the most important techniques in biotechnology is genetic and cell engineering, which focus on creating new cells. With the help of these tools, humanity has been able to create viable cells from completely different elements belonging to different species. Thus, a new set of genes that does not exist in nature is created. Genetic engineering makes it possible for a person to obtain the desired qualities from modified plant or animal cells.

The achievements of genetic engineering in agriculture are especially valued. This makes it possible to grow plants (or animals) with improved qualities, so-called selective species. Breeding activity is based on the selection of animals or plants with pronounced favorable traits. These organisms are then crossed and a hybrid is obtained with the required combination of useful traits. Of course, everything sounds simple in words, but getting the desired hybrid is quite difficult. In reality, it is possible to obtain an organism with only one or a few beneficial genes. That is, only a few additional qualities are added to the source material, but even this made it possible to make a huge step in the development of agriculture.

Selection and biotechnology have enabled farmers to increase yields, make fruits larger, tastier, and most importantly, resistant to frost. Selection does not bypass the livestock sector. Every year new breeds of domestic animals appear, which can provide more livestock and food.

Achievements

Scientists distinguish three waves in the creation of breeding plants:

1. Late 80s. That's when scientists first began to breed plants that were resistant to viruses. To do this, they took one gene from species that could resist diseases, “transplanted” it into the DNA structure of other plants and made it “work.”
2. Early 2000s. During this period, plants with new consumer properties began to be created. For example, with a high content of oils, vitamins, etc.
3. Our days. In the next 10 years, scientists plan to bring to market vaccine plants, drug plants and biorecovery plants that will produce components for plastics, dyes, etc.

Even in animal husbandry, the promise of biotechnology is exciting. Animals have long been created that have a transgenic gene, that is, they possess some kind of functional hormone, for example growth hormone. But these were only initial experiments. Research has resulted in transgenic goats that can produce a protein that stops bleeding in patients suffering from poor blood clotting.

At the end of the 90s of the last century, American scientists began to work closely on cloning animal embryo cells. This would make it possible to grow livestock in test tubes, but for now this method still needs to be improved. But in xenotransplantation (transplantation of organs from one species to another), scientists in the field of applied biotechnology have achieved significant progress. For example, pigs with the human genome can be used as donors, then there is a minimal risk of rejection.

Food biotechnology

As already mentioned, biotechnological research methods were initially used in food production. Yoghurt, sourdough, beer, wine, bakery products are products obtained using food biotechnology. This segment of research involves processes aimed at changing, improving, or creating specific characteristics of living organisms, particularly bacteria. Specialists in this field of knowledge are developing new techniques for the production of various food products. They are looking for and improving mechanisms and methods for their preparation.

The food a person eats every day should be rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. However, as of today, according to the UN, there is a problem of providing people with food. Almost half the population does not have enough food, 500 million are hungry, and a quarter of the world's population eats insufficient quality food.

Today there are 7.5 billion people on the planet, and if action is not taken to improve the quality and quantity of food, if this is not done, people in developing countries will suffer devastating consequences. And if it is possible to replace lipids, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants with food biotechnology products, then it is almost impossible to replace protein. More than 14 million tons of protein each year are not enough to meet the needs of humanity. But this is where biotechnology comes to the rescue. Modern protein production is based on the artificial formation of protein fibers. They are impregnated with the necessary substances, given shape, the appropriate color and smell. This approach makes it possible to replace almost any protein. And the taste and appearance are no different from the natural product.

Cloning

An important area of ​​knowledge in modern biotechnology is cloning. For several decades now, scientists have been trying to create identical offspring without resorting to sexual reproduction. The cloning process should result in an organism that is similar to the parent not only in appearance, but also in genetic information.

In nature, the cloning process is common among some living organisms. If a person gives birth to identical twins, they can be considered natural clones.

Cloning was first carried out in 1997, when Dolly the sheep was artificially created. And already at the end of the twentieth century, scientists began to talk about the possibility of human cloning. In addition, the concept of partial cloning was explored. That is, it is possible to recreate not the whole organism, but its individual parts or tissues. If you improve this method, you can get an “ideal donor.” In addition, cloning will help preserve rare animal species or restore extinct populations.

Moral aspect

Although the fundamentals of biotechnology can have a decisive impact on the development of all humanity, this scientific approach is poorly received by the public. The overwhelming majority of modern religious leaders (and some scientists) are trying to warn biotechnologists against getting too carried away with their research. This is especially acute when it comes to issues of genetic engineering, cloning and artificial reproduction.

On the one hand, biotechnology seems to be a bright star, a dream and hope that will become reality in the new world. In the future, this science will give humanity many new opportunities. It will become possible to overcome fatal diseases, physical problems will be eliminated, and a person, sooner or later, will be able to achieve earthly immortality. Although, on the other hand, the gene pool may be affected by the constant consumption of genetically modified products or the appearance of people who were created artificially. The problem of changing social structures will arise, and it is likely that we will have to face the tragedy of medical fascism.

That's what biotechnology is. Science that can bring brilliant prospects to humanity by creating, changing or improving cells, living organisms and systems. She will be able to give a person a new body, and the dream of eternal life will become a reality. But you will have to pay a considerable price for this.

Main achievements and prospects for the development of agricultural biotechnology

Biotechnological approaches allow modern plant breeders to isolate individual genes responsible for desired traits and move them from the genome of one plant to the genome of another - transgenesis.

Thanks to biotechnology, plants have been produced with improved nutritional properties, herbicide resistance and with built-in protection against viruses and pests (soybeans, tomatoes, cotton, papaya). GM crops used in livestock production - corn, soybeans, canola and cotton

Using genetic methods, strains of microorganisms (Ashbya gossypii, Pseudomonas denitrificans, etc.) were also obtained that produce tens of thousands of times more vitamins (C, B 3, B 13, etc.) than the original forms.

Prospects:

1. Biotechnology specialists are developing ways to increase the amount of protein in plants, which will make it possible to give up meat in the future.

2. For the agricultural complex, developments are underway in the direction of improving the self-defense functions of plants from insect pests, through the release of poison.

3. One of the rapidly developing branches of biotechnology is the technology of microbial synthesis of substances valuable to humans. Further development of this industry will entail a redistribution of the roles of crop production and animal husbandry on the one hand, and microbial synthesis on the other, in the formation of the food base of mankind.

4. The industrial use of biotechnology achievements is based on the technique of creating recombinant DNA molecules. Designing the necessary genes makes it possible to control the heredity and vital activity of animals, plants and microorganisms and create organisms with new properties.

5. As sources of raw materials for biotechnology, renewable resources of non-edible plant materials and agricultural waste, which serve as an additional source of both feed substances and secondary fuel (biogas) and organic fertilizers, are becoming increasingly important.

6. Biodegradation (recycling) of cellulose. Complete breakdown of cellulose into glucose can solve many problems - obtaining large amounts of carbohydrates and cleaning the environment from forest waste and agricultural production. Currently, genes for cellulolytic enzymes have already been isolated from some microorganisms. Methods are being developed to transfer them into yeast, which could first hydrolyze cellulose to glucose and then convert it to alcohol.

Latest advances in medical biotechnology

In the field of medical biotechnology, interferons—proteins that can suppress the reproduction of viruses—have been developed.

Production of human insulin using genetically modified bacteria, production of erythropoietin (a hormone that stimulates the formation of red blood cells in the bone marrow.

It has become possible to produce polymers that replace human organs and tissues (kidneys, blood vessels, valves, heart-lung apparatus, etc.).

Mass immunization (vaccination) has become the most accessible and cost-effective way to prevent infectious diseases. Thus, over 30 years of vaccinating Russian children against measles, the incidence of measles has decreased by 620 times.

Methods for producing antibiotics have been developed. The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized the treatment of infectious diseases. Gone are the ideas about the incurability of many bacterial infections (plague, tuberculosis, sepsis, syphilis, etc.).

One of the latest achievements in biotechnological diagnostics is the method of biosensors, which “catch” molecules associated with diseases and send signals to sensors. Biosensor diagnostics are used to determine glucose in the blood of diabetic patients. It is hoped that over time it will be possible to implant biosensors into the blood vessels of patients to more accurately monitor their insulin needs.

It has become possible not only to create “biological reactors”, transgenic animals, genetically modified plants, but also to carry out genetic certification (a complete study and analysis of a person’s genotype, usually carried out immediately after birth, to determine predisposition to various diseases, possibly inadequate ( allergic) reaction to certain medications, as well as a tendency to certain types of activities). Genetic certification makes it possible to predict and reduce the risks of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, study and prevent neurodegenerative diseases and aging processes, etc.

Scientists have been able to identify genes responsible for the manifestation of various pathologies and contributing to an increase in life expectancy.

Opportunities have emerged for early diagnosis of hereditary diseases and timely prevention of hereditary pathology.

The most important area for medical biotechnology has become cell engineering, in particular the technology for producing monoclonal antibodies, which are produced in culture or in the animal’s body by hybrid lymphoid cells - hybridomas. Monoclonal antibody technology has had a major impact on basic and applied medical research and medical practice. Based on them, new immunological analysis systems have been developed and used - radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassay. They make it possible to determine vanishingly small concentrations of specific antigens and antibodies in the body.

Microchips are now considered the most advanced technology in diagnosing diseases. They are used for early diagnosis of infectious, oncological and genetic diseases, allergens, as well as in the study of new drugs.

Related information.

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Modern achievements of biotechnology

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2011

Biotechnology is a field of human activity that is characterized by the widespread use of biological systems at all levels in a wide variety of branches of science, industrial production, medicine, agriculture and other fields.

A revolutionary stage in the development of biotechnology was the use of gene and cellular biotechnologies, which have rapidly developed in recent decades and have already significantly influenced various aspects of human life: health, medicine, nutrition, demography, ecology.

The first products of genetic biotechnologies were biologically active proteins, which are widely used today in medicine as medicines. Previously, through traditional biotechnology, various biological compounds were produced by processing large quantities of microbial, animal or plant material, using the natural ability of organisms to synthesize these compounds. Thus, insulin, which was isolated from the pancreas of pigs, was previously used to treat diabetes. Such insulin was expensive and, moreover, ineffective. The situation has changed greatly since the first genetically engineered human insulin, synthesized by Escherichia coli cells, was obtained in 1982 in the United States.

Currently, many biopharmaceuticals obtained using gene-cell biotechnology are used in practical medicine. Along with insulin, various interferons, interleukins, drugs for hemophilia, anticancer and painkillers, essential amino acids, growth hormone, monoclonal antibodies and much more are already produced. And this list is replenished with dozens of titles every year. In laboratories and clinics around the world, an intensive search and testing of new drugs is constantly underway, including for such dangerous diseases as heart disease, various forms of cancer, AIDS and various viral infections. According to experts, today about 25% of all medicines in the world are produced using genetic biotechnologies.

An important stage in the development of modern gene-cell biotechnology was the development of methods for producing transgenic animals and plants (they are also called genetically modified organisms, abbreviated GMOs). A transgenic organism is an organism in all respects similar to a non-transgenic, normal one, but containing in all cells, among tens of thousands of its own genes, 1 (rarely 2) additional gene (it is called a transgene), which is unusual for it in nature.

The technology of creating transgenic plants has led to a revolution in crop production. It made it possible to obtain plants that are resistant to a number of highly pathogenic viruses, fungal and bacterial infections, insect pests, to create plants with a high content of vitamin A that are resistant to cold, soil salinity, drought, plants with improved protein content and composition, etc. Thus, by interfering with the genetic programs of plants, it is possible to give them the function of resistance to various unfavorable environmental stress factors. The use of GMOs has significantly increased the efficiency of agriculture, and therefore this technology has found itself in demand in a market where other possibilities for increasing productivity (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) have largely exhausted themselves.

In 1994, after careful comprehensive field testing, the commercial sale of the first transgenic food plant, a tomato with a unique property, was approved in the United States: it can lie unripe for months at a temperature of 12 ° C, but as soon as it gets warm, it ripens in just a few hours. Since then, many other transgenic plants have been released onto the market; It has already been possible to obtain many different forms of soybeans, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and rapeseed that are resistant to various agricultural pests. For example, a transgenic potato has been obtained that is inaccessible to the Colorado potato beetle. In this potato, one of the proteins of soil bacteria is synthesized, which is toxic to the beetle, but completely harmless to humans. There are transgenic plants that can independently, without the help of microorganisms, fix nitrogen, soddan “golden” rice with a high content of vitamin A, etc.

There are already herds of transgenic goats and cows in the world, in which medically useful substances are synthesized in the mammary gland, which are then excreted in the milk of these animals. Today, the medicine is the milk of transgenic animals, which contains proteins such as insulin, human growth hormone, antithrombin, interferon. In Russia, for example, genetic technologists have created a breed of sheep that produces, along with milk, an enzyme necessary for the production of cheese; Russian scientists, together with colleagues from Brazil, are successfully working on the creation of transgenic goats, the milk of which will contain a pharmaceutical product called granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor, necessary for the treatment of various blood diseases, the need for which is enormous in the world.

Many research centers are working to create transgenic animals used as models for various hereditary human diseases. Transgenic laboratory animals with an increased incidence of tumors have already been obtained, animal lines have been bred in whose bodies human diseases such as sickle cell anemia, diabetes, neurological diseases, arthritis, jaundice, cardiovascular and a number of hereditary diseases are reproduced. Such animal models allow us to better understand the nature of various human pathologies and use them to search for effective drugs.

In the future, transgenosis technology can also be used to create transgenic animals that can be used as sources of organs and tissues for transplantology (in particular, they have inactivated antigens responsible for tissue compatibility). Research in this area has already begun on pigs, which are considered as possible candidates for transplantation of their organs to humans. Transgenic plants are also planned to be used for medicinal purposes. For example, vaccines are being developed on their basis, which are called “edible”. To do this, one or another viral gene is introduced into the plant, which ensures the synthesis of the corresponding protein that has the properties of an antigen. Eating this plant allows a person to gradually acquire immunity to a particular virus. Another example: in Japan, a variety of rice was created that will allow patients with diabetes to do without medications, since its consumption stimulates the pancreas to synthesize its own insulin.

Probably, it was the notable successes in the field of creating GMOs that served as the impetus for the emergence in 1990 of another important area of ​​gene-cell biotechnology - gene therapy. With the help of gene therapy, a “good” gene can be delivered to cells that suffer from gene dysfunction, which can compensate for the “bad” gene. True, sometimes the disease is caused by the excessive work of individual genes that are unusual for a normal cell (for example, during a viral infection). In such cases, on the contrary, the work of the “harmful” gene should be suppressed. One of the most promising approaches to this is RNA interference - the process of suppressing the work of a gene using fragments of RNA molecules, the mechanism of which was discovered by A. Fire and K. Mello (and again the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2006). All this is what they are trying to do today with the help of gene therapy. The target for gene therapy can be both body cells (somatic cells) and germ cells (eggs, sperm). In the case of hereditary diseases, germ cells could be more suitable for gene therapy, the correction of which should persist in the offspring. However, in practical terms, somatic therapy is now of greater interest, and gene therapy of germ cells is a problem in the distant future, although in reality hereditary diseases could be cured once and for all by acting specifically on germ cells or embryonic cells in the early stages of development. The introduced gene, entering as a result of artificial transfer into many intensively dividing cells of the embryo, is able to prevent the development of the disease. But this type of gene therapy is associated with a number of problems, both technical and, mainly, ethical. In particular, there are concerns that this approach could be used to produce a new generation of “custom-made babies.”

Currently, only gene therapy aimed at somatic cells of an adult organism seems to be a reality. Of the total number of known human diseases, about 30-40% are so-called genetic or hereditary diseases. Many of these pathologies are associated with a malfunction of a single gene. Gene therapy is applicable primarily to such diseases, since in these cases the treatment process is significantly facilitated. Currently, using information about the structure of the human genome and its individual genes, scientists are carrying out a large-scale search for treatments for many traditionally considered fatal hereditary and acquired diseases for humans, for which a “bad” gene and/or its product is known. First of all, these are diseases such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, adenosine deaminase deficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, various cardiovascular pathologies, etc. Thus, in the USA and Great Britain, tests were carried out on patients with a defect in the gene that encodes the protein, necessary for normal retinal function. During the operations, these patients were injected with “healthy” copies of the damaged gene into the back of one eye. After six months, patients who before gene therapy could only distinguish between hand movements were able to see all the lines on the vision test chart. There have been some successes in the use of gene therapy to treat a number of non-hereditary pathologies (certain forms of cancer, ischemia) and infectious diseases (AIDS, hepatitis). Currently, over 600 clinical trial protocols using gene and gene-cell therapy have already been approved in different countries of the world.

Gene therapy technology has undergone significant changes over the years. In the early stages, to transfer genes into the body, they relied mainly on the natural ability of viruses carrying a therapeutic gene to penetrate and multiply in cells. Now is the time for nanobiotechnology to take part in this. Development of approaches to targeted gene transfer into certain types of cells using nanoparticles containing antibodies to specific antigens of these cells on their surface has already begun. Such nanoparticles “loaded” with genes and antibodies purposefully move in the body to affected areas and have a targeted therapeutic effect. However, despite all the positive results obtained with gene therapy, it still remains ineffective. Key problems such as targeted gene delivery and their long-term and effective functioning in affected tissues remain unresolved. The future of gene therapy largely depends on solving these problems.

The success of gene biotechnologies was greatly facilitated by the parallel development of cellular biotechnologies. One of the important achievements was the production and cultivation of stem cells. At the end of the 70s of the last century, convincing data were obtained on the possibility of using bone marrow stem cell transplantation in the treatment of acute leukemia. From this time on, a new era in medicine began. First, so-called embryonic stem cells were obtained from mouse embryos and then from human embryos. The latter event was recognized as one of the three most significant achievements in biology in the 20th century (along with the discovery of the double helix of DNA and the complete decoding of the human genome).

Significant progress in modern biotechnology has occurred in connection with the development of technology for reproductive cloning of animal organisms, i.e. artificially obtaining identical copies of such organisms. About 10 years ago, an incredible fuss was made around the birth of Dolly the sheep, which everyone now knows about.

Biological technologies (biotechnologies) provide controlled production of useful products for various spheres of human activity, based on the use of the catalytic potential of biological agents and systems of varying degrees of organization and complexity - microorganisms, viruses, plant and animal cells and tissues, as well as extracellular substances and cell components.

The development and transformation of biotechnology is driven by profound changes that have occurred in biology over the past 25-30 years. These events were based on new ideas in the field of molecular biology and molecular genetics. At the same time, it should be noted that the development and achievements of biotechnology are closely related to the body of knowledge not only of biological sciences, but also of many others.

The expansion of the practical sphere of biotechnology is also due to the socio-economic needs of society. Such urgent problems facing humanity on the threshold of the 21st century, such as a shortage of clean water and nutrients (especially protein), environmental pollution, lack of raw materials and energy resources, the need to obtain new, environmentally friendly materials, develop new diagnostic and treatment tools, cannot be solved by traditional methods. Therefore, to ensure human life support, improve the quality of life and its duration, it is becoming increasingly necessary to master fundamentally new methods and technologies.

The development of scientific and technological progress, accompanied by an increase in the rate of material and energy resources, unfortunately, leads to an imbalance in biosphere processes. The water and air basins of cities are polluted, the reproductive function of the biosphere is reduced, and due to the accumulation of dead-end products of the technosphere, global circulation cycles of the biosphere are disrupted.

The rapid pace of modern scientific and technological progress of mankind was figuratively described by the Swiss engineer and philosopher Eichelberg: “It is believed that the age of mankind is 600,000 years. Let’s imagine the movement of humanity in the form of a 60 km marathon, which, starting somewhere, goes towards the center of one of our cities, as if towards the finish... Most of the distance runs along a very difficult path - through virgin forests, and we We don’t know anything about this, because only at the very end, at 58-59 km of running, we find, along with primitive tools, cave drawings as the first signs of culture, and only at the last kilometer do signs of agriculture appear.

200 m before the finish line, a road covered with stone slabs leads past Roman fortifications. 100 meters away, the runners are surrounded by medieval city buildings. There are 50 meters left before the finish line, where a man stands, watching the runners with intelligent and understanding eyes - this is Leonardo da Vinci. There are 10 m left. They begin in the light of torches and the poor lighting of oil lamps. But when throwing in the last 5 meters, a stunning miracle occurs: the light floods the night road, carts without draft animals rush past, cars rustle in the air, and the amazed runner is blinded by the light of the spotlights of photo and television cameras...”, i.e. in 1 m, the human genius makes a stunning leap in the field of scientific and technological progress. Continuing this image, we can add that as the runner approaches the finish line, thermonuclear fusion is tamed, spaceships are launched, and the genetic code is deciphered.

Biotechnology is the basis of scientific and technological progress and improving the quality of human life

Biotechnology as a field of knowledge and a dynamically developing industrial sector is designed to solve many key problems of our time, while ensuring the preservation of balance in the system of relationships “man - nature - society”, because biological technologies (biotechnologies), based on the use of the potential of living things, are by definition aimed at friendliness and harmony of a person with the world around him. Currently, biotechnology is divided into several most significant segments: these are “white”, “green”, “red”, “gray” and “blue” biotechnology.

“White” biotechnology includes industrial biotechnology, focused on the production of products previously produced by the chemical industry - alcohol, vitamins, amino acids, etc. (taking into account the requirements of resource conservation and environmental protection).

Green biotechnology covers an area of ​​relevance to agriculture. These are research and technologies aimed at creating biotechnological methods and preparations for controlling pests and pathogens of cultivated plants and domestic animals, creating biofertilizers, increasing plant productivity, including using genetic engineering methods.

Red (medical) biotechnology is the most significant area of ​​modern biotechnology. This is the production of diagnostics and drugs using biotechnological methods using cellular and genetic engineering technologies (green vaccines, gene diagnostics, monoclonal antibodies, tissue engineering designs and products, etc.).

Gray biotechnology develops technologies and drugs to protect the environment; these are soil reclamation, wastewater and gaseous emissions treatment, industrial waste disposal and toxicant degradation using biological agents and biological processes.

Blue biotechnology is mainly focused on the efficient use of ocean resources. First of all, this is the use of marine biota to obtain food, technical, biologically active and medicinal substances.

Modern biotechnology is one of the priority areas of the national economy of all developed countries. The way to increase the competitiveness of biotechnological products in sales markets is one of the main ones in the overall strategy for the development of biotechnology in industrialized countries. A stimulating factor is specially adopted government programs for the accelerated development of new areas of biotechnology.

State programs provide for the issuance of gratuitous loans to investors, long-term loans, and tax exemptions. As basic and targeted research becomes increasingly costly, many countries are seeking to move significant research beyond national borders.

As is known, the probability of success of R&D projects in general does not exceed 12-20%, about 60% of projects reach the stage of technical completion, 30% - commercial development, and only 12% are profitable.

Features of the development of research and commercialization of biological technologies in the USA, Japan, EU countries and Russia

USA. The leading position in biotechnology in terms of industrial production of biotechnological products, sales volumes, foreign trade turnover, allocations and scale of R&D is occupied by the United States, where great attention is paid to the development of this area. By 2003, over 198,300 people were employed in this sector.

Allocations to this sector of science and economics in the United States are significant and amount to over $20 billion. USA annually. Revenues of the US biotechnology industry increased from $8 billion. in 1992 to 39 billion dollars. in 2003

This industry is under close government attention. Thus, during the period of formation of the latest biotechnology and the emergence of its directions related to the manipulation of genetic material, in the mid-70s. last century, the US Congress paid great attention to the safety of genetic research. In 1977 alone, 25 special hearings were held and 16 bills were passed.

In the early 90s. The focus has shifted to developing measures to encourage the practical use of biotechnology for the production of new products. The development of biotechnology in the United States is associated with the solution of many key problems: energy, raw materials, food and environmental issues.

Among the biotechnological areas that are close to practical implementation or are at the stage of industrial development are the following:
- bioconversion of solar energy;
- the use of microorganisms to increase oil yield and leaching of non-ferrous and rare metals;
- designing strains that can replace expensive inorganic catalysts and change synthesis conditions to obtain fundamentally new compounds;
- the use of bacterial plant growth stimulants, changing the genotype of cereals and their adaptation to ripening in extreme conditions (without plowing, watering and fertilizers);
- directed biosynthesis for the effective production of target products (amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, antibiotics, food additives, pharmacological drugs;
- obtaining new diagnostic and therapeutic drugs based on cellular and genetic engineering methods.

The role of the US leader is due to the high allocations of government and private capital for basic and applied research. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Energy, Chemicals, Food, Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Interior play key roles in biotechnology funding. Allocations are allocated on a program-target basis, i.e. Research projects are subsidized and contracted.

At the same time, large industrial companies establish business relationships with universities and research centers. This contributes to the formation of complexes in one area or another, ranging from fundamental research to serial production of a product and delivery to the market. This “participation system” provides for the formation of specialized funds with appropriate expert councils and the attraction of the most qualified personnel.

When selecting projects with high commercial impact, it has become advantageous to use the so-called “constraint analysis”. This allows you to significantly reduce the project implementation time (on average from 7-10 to 2-4 years) and increase the probability of success to 80%. The concept of “specified limitations” includes the potential for successful sale of the product and making a profit, increasing annual production, competitiveness of the product, potential risk from a sales perspective, the possibility of restructuring production taking into account new achievements, etc.

Annual total US government spending on genetic engineering and biotechnology research amounts to billions of dollars. Investments from private companies significantly exceed these figures. Several billion dollars are allocated annually for the creation of diagnostic and anticancer drugs alone. These are mainly the following areas: methods of DNA recombination, production of hybrids, production and use of monoclonal antibodies, tissue and cell culture.

In the United States, it has become common for companies not previously associated with biotechnology to begin acquiring stakes in existing companies and building their own biotechnology enterprises (Table 1.1). This, for example, is the practice of such chemical giants as Philips Petrolium, Monsanto, Dow Chemical. About 250 chemical companies currently have interests in biotechnology. Thus, the giant of the US chemical industry, the De Pont company, has several biotechnological complexes worth 85-150 thousand dollars. with a staff of 700-1,000 people.

Similar complexes have been created within the Monsanto structure; moreover, currently up to 75% of the budget (over $750 million) is allocated to the field of biotechnology. The focus of these companies is the production of genetically engineered growth hormone, as well as a number of genetically engineered drugs for veterinary medicine and pharmacology. In addition, firms, together with university research centers, sign contracts for joint R&D.

Table 1.1. The largest US concerns and pharmaceutical companies producing medical biotechnological drugs

There is an opinion that all the necessary conditions for the formation and development of biotechnology in the United States have been prepared by the venture business. For large firms and companies, venture business is a well-established technique that allows them to obtain new developments in a shorter period of time, attracting small firms and small teams for this, rather than doing it on their own.

For example, in the 80s. General Electric, with the help of small firms, began to master the production of biologically active compounds; in 1981 alone, its risk allocations in biotechnology amounted to $3 million. Small firm risk-taking provides large companies and corporations with a mechanism for selecting economically viable innovations with strong commercial prospects.

ON THE. Voinov, T.G. Volova