Technology has been developed to improve the quality of life for society thanks to advancements in science and better biological tools. Biotechnology is one of the most significant methods.
In other words, biotechnology is a field that studies how to use biological systems and organisms in industrial and technical processes to assist human welfare.
For over six thousand years, biotechnology has been used to produce desired products using microorganisms, such as bread, beer, cheese, and others. To date, biotechnology has expanded into nearly all aspects of life.
What is Biotechnology?
Biotechnology is the meaning of the word “bio,” which means “living creature,” and “technology,” which means “producing useful products with specific principles or technology.”
Biotechnology is a branch of biology that studies how to use living organisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and others) and products of living organisms (enzymes, alcohol, antibiotics, and organic acids) in production processes to create products and services that can be used by humans.
Currently, biotechnology relies on biology as a whole, as well as applied fields such as computer science, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, chemistry, mathematics, and other sciences.
History of Biotechnology Development
Our ancestors have been using biotechnology for thousands of years. There are three periods of development, namely:
1. Traditional Biotechnology (6000 BC)
Traditional biotechnology is characterized by the use of microbes in food processing or preservation processes known as fermentation. This period began before 1800 AD with the making of beer from yeast by the Babylonian society.
Foods and beverages processed through fermentation include not only beer. Foods such as bread, tempeh, tape, sake, oncom, and soy sauce are examples. Because there was no discipline explaining the term biotechnology, people in the past may not have known.
2. Scientific Biotechnology (1800 BC – Mid-19th Century)
People began to realize that the fermentation process was not something that happened on its own. They conducted research out of curiosity and used scientific principles.
The result was the discovery of enzymes from yeast extracts that had the ability to convert sugar into alcohol. Later, Karl Ereky coined the term biotechnology in 1919.
Currently, biotechnology encompasses food and drugs, such as penicillin and antibiotics.
3. Modern Biotechnology (After WWII – Now)
Human needs continue to increase with the development of the times. There are efforts to make food and drugs with more efficient and effective processes.
The discovery of restriction endonuclease enzymes is the starting point for contemporary biotechnology. This enzyme allows us to cut and insert DNA into living organisms.
Scope of Biotechnology
Broadly speaking, various types of biotechnology are classified into the following categories:
1. Green Biotechnology
Green biotechnology studies the application of biotechnology in agriculture, such as tissue culture, domestication, and genetic engineering to produce pest-resistant crops, high-nutrition crops, or those with potentially active ingredients for raw materials for drugs.
2. Red Biotechnology
Red biotechnology studies the application of biotechnology in the field of health, such as vaccine production and disease detection with molecular diagnostic techniques.
3. Blue Biotechnology
Blue biotechnology investigates how biotechnology can be used in processes related to aquatic environments.
4. White Biotechnology
White biotechnology investigates the use of biotechnology in various industries, including enzyme production using microorganisms.
Types of Biotechnology
Biotechnology is divided into 2 types, conventional biotechnology and modern biotechnology. Here are the differences:
1. Conventional Biotechnology
Conventional biotechnology is biotechnology that produces or alters products by utilizing living organisms or microorganisms directly, usually in their entirety.
Characteristics of conventional biotechnology, such as:
- Utilizing intact microorganisms directly.
- The fermentation principle is usually used for natural methods or principles.
- Using simple materials and tools.
- Manufacturing does not require special skills.
- The costs and production scale used are smaller.
- Foods such as yogurt, nata de coco, tempeh, tape, and soy sauce are examples of conventional biotechnology.
2. Modern Biotechnology
Modern biotechnology uses living organisms or microorganisms indirectly and usually consists of specific components to produce products based on specific principles or technology.
Characteristics of modern biotechnology include:
- Utilizing microorganisms indirectly and usually consists of specific components.
- Using more advanced methods and principles, such as genetic engineering, gene modification, and
- reproductive technology.
- Using modern and sophisticated materials and tools.
- Manufacturing requires special skills.
- They are usually expensive and have a large production scale.
- Examples of modern biotechnology include artificial insemination, transgenic plants, test tube
- babies, and synthetic insulin hormones.
4 Application of Biotechnology
Here is an explanation of the application of biotechnology that helps human survival.
1. Agricultural and Food Fields
Agricultural biotechnology aims to increase crop yields, quality, and disease resistance by altering plant genes.
Plants with higher nutritional value and longer shelf life can be developed thanks to biotechnology. For example, the Bacillus thuringiensis fungus gene acts as a pesticide on corn plants (Federici, 2002).
Biotechnology has also produced types of poultry and livestock that are resistant to disease and have better meat and milk production. Biotechnology also helps develop sustainable farming practices by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, thus reducing environmental damage.
Biotechnology has driven the development of various healthier, more nutritious, and longer-lasting food products in the food industry. The development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is one of the most important applications of biotechnology in the food industry.
GMOs are used to make various food products, such as corn, soybeans, and cotton. GMOs are also created by altering the genetic material of organisms to enhance certain properties, such as better yields or resistance to diseases and pests.
2. Medical and Health Fields
By using living cells and other cell materials, medical biotechnology can help human health. By using living organisms such as bacteria, yeast, and animal or plant cells, biotechnology-based drugs have been created.
For example, the hormone used to treat diabetes, insulin, is made by inserting human DNA into the genetic material of bacteria such as E. coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This is done through DNA recombination technology (Baeshen et al., 2014).
Developing PCR technology to detect viruses like COVID-19 is another application of biotechnology (Aileni et al., 2022).
3. Industrial and Environmental Fields
Biotechnology is used in the industrial and environmental fields to produce environmentally friendly, energy-saving products, and produce low amounts of waste. Enzymes are used as detergents, fungal mycelium is used to make vegan leather, and enzymes and chemicals are made.
Through bioremediation, which is the use of microorganisms to clean pollutants from the environment such as oil spills, contaminated soil, and wastewater, environmental biotechnology helps waste processing and pollution prevention more efficiently (Rath, 2012).
Biodegradable plastics are also being developed to reduce the amount of plastic waste. If you’re interested in biotechnology.
4. Marine and Fisheries Field
Biotechnology in the marine and fisheries field includes genetic engineering to create shrimp resistant to pests such as viruses. Additionally, marine biotechnology is also related to the management of water resources to produce bio-based products, such as biodegradable plastics made from seaweed.
Developing enzyme products and the potential use of marine bacteria for bioremediation are the focus of metagenomic research on deep-sea organisms.
