Table Of ContentAL-FARABI KAZAKH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
B.K. Zayadan
L.B. Dzhansugurova
S.K. Turasheva
BASICS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
Textbook
Stereotypical publication
Almaty
“Qazaq University”
2020
UDC 60(075)
LBC 30.16я73
Z 38
Recommended for publication by the decision
of the Academic Council of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology,
Editorial and Publishing Council of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
(protocol No.4 from April 16, 2019 y.);
Educational and methodical association on groups of specialties
«Natural sciences», «Humanities», «Social sciences, economics and business»,
«Engineering and technology» and «Arts»
of Republican educational-methodical Council
on the basis of Аl-Farabi Kazakh National University
(protocol No.1 from March 2, 2019 y.)
Peer reviewers:
Dr., Professor K. Zhambakin
Dr., Professor D. Jussupova
Dr., Professor I. Savicskaya
Zayadan B.K.
Z 38 Basics of Biotechnology: textbook / B.K. Zayadan, L.B. Dzhansugu-
rova, S.K. Turasheva. – Ster. pub. – Almaty: Qazaq University, 2020. –
428 p.
ISBN 978-601-04-4230-6
This book represents the application of biotechnology in life, shows examples, explains
the methods of growing and spreading of living organisms, explains how to obtain and
clean the necessary objects of biotechnology.
The aim of this book is to familiarize students with the main principles and tendencies
of biotechnology.
Basics of Biotechnology is intended for the Bachelor students of 5В070100-Bio tech-
nology specialty.
UDC 60(075)
LBC 30.16я73
ISBN 978-601-04-4230-6 © Zayadan B.K., Dzhansugurova L.B., Tu rasheva S.K., 2020
©Al-Farabi KazNU, 2020
INTRODUCTION
Biotechnology (Greek “bios” – life, “techne” – art, “logos” – science) is
new branch which helps to obtain important economically beneficial products,
strains of microorganisms, new species of plants and animals, helps to increase
the population through the artificial conditions.
Biotechnology is the application of scientific techniques used to modify and
improve plants, animals, and microorganisms to enhance their value.
Biotechnology is the area of knowledge that allows us to obtain products
useful to people by the controlled cultivation of organisms – food, forages, medi-
cations, various raw materials, forms of nitrogen, safety measures for plants and
animals. Also, biotechnology provides methods that help to utilize various types
of organic waste. The most economically developed countries such as China,
USA, Japan, France, Germany, Holland, Great Britain and others widely use and
apply biotechnological methods in science.
The present stage of scientific and technical progress is characterized by the
revolutionary changes in biology, which becomes the leader of natural sciences.
Biology has reached the molecular and subcellular level, the methods of allied sci-
ences (physics, chemistry, mathematics, cybernetics, etc.) and system approaches
are intensively used in it. Rapid development of the complex of biological profile
with the expansion of the practical sphere of their application is also conditioned
by the social and economic needs of society. The problems of deficiency of food
resources (especially proteins), environmental pollution, shortages of raw materi-
als and energy resources, development of new diagnostic tools and treatment can-
not be solved by traditional methods. Therefore, there was an acute need for the
development and application of fundamentally new methods and Technologies.
An important role in solving a complex of these problems is given to biotechnol-
ogy, within the framework of which the targeted use of biological systems and
processes in various spheres of human activity is carried out.
The use of scientific achievements and practical advances in biotechnology
is closely connected with fundamental research and is realized at the highest level
of modern science.
3
PART I
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
6 Part I. Microbial biotechnology
1
CHAPTER
HISTORY OF MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biotechnology has a long history and its roots are traced back to the ancient
times of human life, when biotechnology had not yet been accepted and devel-
oped as a science. Approximately 7000 years BC, the Sumerians and Babylo-
nians used to convert sugar into alcohol. By 4000 years BC, the Egyptians used
leaven-containing yeast to improve bread quality. Moreover, the ancients knew
how to use bacteria and molds for vinegar and cheese production.
The Chinese used molds as antibiotics for treatment of purulent wounds
about 500 years BC. This first period, from several thousand years to 150 years
ago, is known as the ancient or traditional industrial microbiological period, when
cultures of microorganisms were used in nonsterile conditions to make products.
Approximately 150 years ago, Louis Pasteur proved the microbial source of fer-
mentation and established industrial microbiology as a science based on the scientific
princ iples. During World War I, Chaim Weizmann used Clostridium bacterium for pro-
duct ion of acetone and butanol. Then Aspergillus mold was used to produce a citric acid.
Using Alexander Fleming’s discovery of antibiotic properties of Penicillium
mold, Florey and Chain were able to prepare a pure form of penicillin during the
Second World War. In the 1940s, Waksman discovered some aminoglycoside
antibiotics like streptomycin and neomycin. In the late 1950s and 1960s, microor-
ganisms were used to produce amino acids and unicellular proteins. This second
period, from 150 years to 40 years ago, is known as the classic industrial mi-
crobiological period, when pure cultures of microorganisms were used in sterile
conditions for products manufacturing. Furthermore, the microbial strains were
improved by classic genetical methods such as protoplasm fusion and mutagen-
esis with physical and chemical mutagens (Glazer and Nikaido 2007).
The third period, which began in the 1970s and continues to the present time,
is known as the modern industrial microbiology or microbial biotechnology. The
prominent features of this period are the use of recombinant DNA or genetic
engineering methods for the improvement of industrial strains and production of
recombinant proteins.
In some sources, the term “biotechnology” is incorrectly used instead of
genetic engineering or modification. This mistake originated in the United States
where several years ago new genetic methods were considered as awful and de-
6
Chapter 1. History of microbial biotechnology 7
monic procedures. Therefore, the term “biotechnology” was used instead of ge-
netic engineering and production of transgenic organisms to reduce worry and
diversion of public opinion. Later, the media and politicians used the term and,
thus, it entered legislation and government documents.
Humans have been using genetic modification in selective breeding of plants
and animals for higher productivity over tens of thousands of years. For more
than 50 years, classic methods such as protoplasm fusion and mutagenesis have
been used for genetic modification of organisms. Genetic engineering and its
equivalent terms, genetic modification or genetic manipulations advanced the
molecular biology techniques that have been used since the 1970s (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Timeline of industrial microbiology and microbial biotechnology
8 Part I. Microbial biotechnology
The term “biotechnology” was first used by Karl Ereky in 1917, when mo-
lecular genetics and genetic engineering had not yet been discovered. In 1919,
Ereky described biotechnology as a technology based on converting raw materi-
als into useful products, in his book entitled “Biotechnology of Meat, Fat and
Milk Production in Agricultural Large-scale Farm”.
Later, many definitions were proposed for biotechnology. Application of bio-
logical systems, living organisms, or derivatives for production or modification of
products is the most comprehensive definition for biotechnology. Biotechnology is
not only a science or a set of methods, it is also the interdisciplinary science that
encompasses microbiology, plant and animal science, biochemistry, cellular and mo-
lecular biology, genetic modification, and engineering fields with biological perspec-
tives such as mechanics, electronics, information technology, robotics, and others.
The European Federation of Biotechnology considers biotechnology in two cat-
egories “traditional or old” and “new or modern” biotechnology. Several thousand
years before, traditional methods were used to produce beverages, foods, and dairy
products in traditional or old biotechnology, which is the equivalent of traditional
industrial microbiology and classic industrial microbiology. New methods of genetic
engineering, which were used from the 1970s to the early 1980s, began to develop
and change the traditional biotechnology to new or modern biotechnology, which is
the equivalent of modern industrial microbiology or microbial biotechnology.
Today, the third wave of biotechnology, known as industrial biotechnology
or white biotechnology is expanding. It has made considerable progress in com-
parison with the second wave, namely red biotechnology or medical biotechnolo-
gy and the first wave, namely, green biotechnology or agricultural biotechnology.
Industrial biotechnology uses biological systems, especially microorgan-
isms, in industrial fermentation processes to produce large quantities of pure ma-
terials and energy including alcohols, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins, sol-
vents, antibiotics, biopolymers, biopesticides, enzymes, alkaloids, steroids, and
others. Industrial biotechnology is based on biological catalysts and fermentation
technology, and it is associated with advances in molecular genetics, protein en-
gineering, and metabolic engineering of microorganisms and cells.
Recently, new methods of metabolic engineering, industrial systems biology,
bioinformatics, X-omics such as genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, pro-
teomics, metabolomics, fluxomics, and even nanobiotechnology, have been used to
find and modify microorganisms with industrial capacity and their valuable products.
Сontrol questions:
1. What is biotechnology?
2. The role of Louis Pasteur’s research in modern biotechnology
3. Alexander Fleming’s discovery
4. When was the term biotechnololgy first used? Who coined this term?
5. When was the genetic engineering science discovered?
Chapter 2. Objects of biotechnology and their application 9
2
CHAPTER
OBJECTS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
AND THEIR APPLICATION
Biotechnological objects are placed at different stages of the organization:
a) subcellular structures (viruses, plasmids, DNA of mitochondria and chlo-
roplasts, nuclear DNA);
b) bacteria and cyanobacteria;
c) fungi;
d) algae;
e) protozoa;
f) cultures of plant and animal cells;
Bacteria fulfill various biotechnological functions. They are used in pro-
duction of various substances: Acetum (Gluconobacter suboxidans), lactic drinks
and products (Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc) as well as microbial insecticides (Ba-
cillus thuringiensis) and herbicides, proteins (Methylomonas), vitamins (Clos-
tridium – Riboflavinum); waste treatment, production of fertilizers, dissolvents
and organic acids, biogas and photohydrogenium. Such property of some bacteria
as ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen is widely used in the world.
Biotechnological functions of fungi are various. They are used for making
such products as:
1) Antibiotics (Penicillins, Streptomycetes, Cephalosporins);
2) Gibberellins and cytotoxins (Fusarium and Botrytis cinerea);
3) Carotenoids (for example, the astaxanthin giving a red-orange shade to the
pulp of salmons is produced by Rhaffia rhodozima which are added to a forage
on fish factories);
4) Protein (Candida, Saccharomyces lipolitica);
5) Cheeses like Roquefort cheese and Camembert (Penicills);
6) Soy sauce (Aspergillus oryzae).
Algae are generally used for receiving protein. Very perspective cultures of
unicellular algae with highly productive strains are Chlorella and Scenedesmus
species. Their biomass, after processing, is used as addition in cattle diets and in
9
10 Part I. Microbial biotechnology
the food industry. One of the most valuable products produced from red algae is
the agar – the polysaccharide present in algae’s membrane consisting of agarose
and agaropectin. Its quantity reaches 30-40% of the alga weight. Alga is the only
source of agar, agaroid, carrageenan, alginates.
Biomass of protozoa contains up to 50% of protein. It has high biological
value because it contains all essential amino acids, and the content of free amino
acids in it is 10 times more than in the biomass of microalga, bacteria and meat.
It demonstrates good opportunities of application of the protozoa as a source of
fodder protein. Euglena is one of the most perspective sources of fodder protein.
Plants are producers of many BAS (biologically active substances) – the
compounds capable to exert impact on biological processes in the organism. Car-
diac glycosides, saponins, sterols, carotenoids, polyphenols, alkaloids, vitamins,
quinones and substances having specific aroma, taste and color refer to such com-
pounds. Biologically active substances belong to products of secondary metabo-
lism that are called secondary metabolites or by-products of biosynthesis. More
than 100 thousands of secondary metabolites are produced by plants. Many of
them are used in the pharmacological, cosmetic, food industry and are considered
as economically important products.
2.1 Basic nature of cells
All living things are composed of cells; there are two basic types of cells:
prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Figure 2 shows the main features of typi-
cal cells of the two types. The parts of the cell will be described briefly beginning
from its outer part.
Cell wall: Prokaryotic cell wall contains glycopeptides; they are absent in
eukaryotic cells. Cell walls of eukaryotic cells contain chitin, cellulose and other
sugar polymers. They provide rigidity where cell walls are present.
Prokaryotic cell Eukaryotic cell
Figure 2. Prokaryotic cell and Eukaryotic cell
