Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and services. From its inception, biotechnology has maintained a close relationship with society, impacting fields such as agriculture, food production, and healthcare. With advancements in molecular biology, biotechnology has expanded its reach to include sophisticated processes like genetic engineering, cell culture and tissue culture technologies, and bioinformatics.

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Key Techniques and Concepts

Biotechnology encompasses a wide array of techniques and concepts pivotal for understanding the manipulation of organisms or their components to make products that benefit humanity. Below is an overview of some critical biotechnological techniques and concepts:

Genetic Engineering

• Adeno-associated virus (AAV) and Adenovirus (AV) - Vectors commonly used in gene therapy for delivering genetic material into cells.
• Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) and Antisense RNA - Strands of DNA or RNA that are complementary to a specific mRNA molecule, used to block its expression.
• Aptamers - Short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that can bind to specific targets (proteins, small molecules, etc.) with high specificity.
• Argonaute (AGO) - A protein family involved in RNA silencing processes like RNA interference (RNAi) and microRNA (miRNA) regulation.

Genomics

• Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) - A technique used for DNA fingerprinting or for detecting genetic variation.
• Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) - A DNA construct, based on a functional fertility plasmid (or F-plasmid), used for transforming and cloning in bacteria, usually E.coli.
• Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) - Short sub-sequences of transcribed DNA sequences used to identify gene transcripts.

RNA Interference

• Dicer and Drosha - Enzymes involved in the process of cutting double-stranded RNA and precursor microRNA molecules into short fragments known as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and miRNA.
• RNA interference (RNAi) - A biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression, typically by causing the destruction of specific mRNA molecules.
• Short Hairpin RNA (shRNA) - A sequence of RNA that makes a tight hairpin turn that can be used to silence target gene expression via RNA interference.

Other Techniques

• Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) - A technique used to detect and localize the presence or absence of specific DNA sequences on chromosomes.
• Genotyping - Determining differences in the genetic make-up (genotype) of an individual by examining the individual's DNA sequence using biological assays.
• Knockdown, Knockin, and Knockout - Techniques used to modify genes to study their functions in the organism.
• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) - A method widely used in molecular biology to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample.

Glossary of Biotechnological Terms

• Amplicon or Amplimer - The DNA or RNA target region that is amplified by PCR.
• CAPS (Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences) - A technique that combines PCR and restriction enzyme digestion to detect SNP or point mutations.
• Cosuppression or Transgene-induced Silencing - A phenomenon where the introduction of a transgene leads to the silencing of the homologous endogenous gene and the transgene itself.
• Duplex - A double-stranded molecule of nucleic acids.
• Epigenetic Inheritance - The transmission of information from one generation of an organism to the next that affects the traits of offspring without alteration of the primary structure of DNA.
• Functional genomics - The study of the relationship between genes and their function.
• Gene silencing - The regulation of gene expression in a cell to prevent the expression of a certain gene.
• Haplotype - A group of genes within an organism that was inherited together from a single parent.
• Homologous Recombination - A type of genetic recombination in which nucleotide sequences are exchanged between two similar or identical molecules of DNA.
• Insertion mutation - A mutation in which one or more nucleotides are inserted into a gene.
• MiRNA (microRNA) - Small non-coding RNA molecules that function in RNA silencing and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.
• Phenotype - The set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment.
• Retrovirus - A type of virus that inserts a copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell it invades, changing the genome of that cell.
• SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) - A variation in a single nucleotide that occurs at a specific position in the genome, where each variation is present to some appreciable degree within a population.

Biotechnology continues to evolve, embracing new technologies and applications. It plays a critical role in advancing healthcare, agriculture, and environmental conservation, reflecting its significance in contemporary science and engineering.

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