Section outline

  • What you will learn
    ::你会学到什么

    • What are the applications of in medicine and
      ::医学和医学应用

    A plant sprouting from soil in a petri dish, symbolizing biotechnology research.

    Why would anyone grow plants like this?
    ::为什么有人会这样种植物?

    Developing better crops is a significant aspect of biotechnology. Crops that are resistant to damage from or droughts must have a significant role in the world's future. And it all starts in the lab.
    ::开发更好的作物是生物技术的一个重要方面。 抗旱作物必须在世界的未来中发挥重要作用。 这一切都始于实验室。

    Applications of Biotechnology
    ::生物技术应用

    Methods of biotechnology can be used for many practical purposes. They are used widely in both medicine and agriculture. 
    ::生物技术方法可用于许多实际用途,在医药和农业中广泛使用。

    Applications in Medicine
    ::医学应用

    In addition to for , biotechnology can be used to transform so they are able to make human . The  Figure shows how this is done to produce a cytokine , which is a small protein that helps fight infections. Proteins made by the bacteria are injected into people who cannot produce them because of .
    ::除此以外,生物技术还可以用来改造,这样它们才能制造人类。图中显示了如何生产细胞外皮,这是一种有助于防治感染的小蛋白质。细菌制造的蛋白质被注射到那些由于(......)原因无法生产蛋白质的人身上。

    Process of genetically engineering bacteria to produce human proteins like cytokines for medical use.
    Genetically Engineering Bacteria to Produce a Human Protein. Bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce a human protein, such as a cytokine. A cytokine is a small protein that helps fight infections.

    Insulin was the first human protein to be produced in this way. Insulin helps take up glucose from the . People with type 1 diabetes have a mutation in the gene that normally codes for insulin. Without insulin, their blood glucose rises to harmfully high levels. At present, the only treatment for type 1 diabetes is the injection of insulin from outside sources. Until recently, there was no known way to make insulin outside the . The problem was solved by gene cloning . The human insulin gene was cloned and used to transform bacterial cells, which could then produce large quantities of human insulin.
    ::胰岛素是第一个以这种方式生产的人类蛋白质。 胰岛素有助于从中提取葡萄糖。 患有1型糖尿病的人在通常为胰岛素编码的基因中发生突变。 没有胰岛素,他们的血糖会上升到有害高水平。 目前,对1型糖尿病的唯一治疗是从外部注射胰岛素。 直到最近,还没有已知的方法在室外制造胰岛素。 问题通过基因克隆来解决。 人类胰岛素基因被克隆并用于改造细菌细胞,然后可以生产大量人类胰岛素。

    Pharmacogenomics
    ::药用基因组学

    We know that, thanks to our , each of us is a little bit different. Some of those differences are obvious, like eye and hair color. Others are not so obvious, like how our bodies react to medication. Researchers are beginning to look at how to tailor medical treatments to our genetic profiles, in a relatively new field called pharmacogenomics . Some of the biggest breakthroughs have been in treatment. 
    ::我们知道,由于我们的功劳,我们每个人都有一点点不同。其中有些差异是显而易见的,比如眼睛和头发的颜色。其他差异并不那么明显,比如我们的身体对药物的反应。研究人员开始研究如何在相对新的领域,即药理基因学领域,根据我们的基因特征调整医疗。一些最大的突破是在治疗中。

    Synthetic Biology
    ::合成生物学

    Imagine living cells acting as memory devices, biofuels brewing from yeast, or a light receptor taken from that makes photographs on a plate of bacteria. The new field of synthetic biology is making biology easier to engineer so that new functions can be derived from living systems. 
    ::想象一下活细胞作为记忆装置、从酵母中酿造的生物燃料,或者在细菌盘子上拍摄照片的光受体。 合成生物学的新领域正在使生物学更容易工程,从而能够从生命系统中产生新的功能。

     

     

    Applications in Agriculture
    ::农业应用

    Biotechnology has been used to create transgenic crops . Transgenic crops are genetically modified with new genes that code for traits useful to humans. The diagram in the  Figure shows how a transgenic crop is created. 
    ::生物技术被用来制造转基因作物,转基因作物在基因上经过基因改变,并配有新的基因来编码对人类有用的特性,图中的图表显示了转基因作物是如何创造的。

    Flowchart explaining the process of creating transgenic crops using Agrobacterium.
    Creating a Transgenic Crop. (1) T - DNA, a part of tumor inducing plasmid (Ti plasmid) is used to transfer its genetic material to dicotyledon plants. (2) T-DNA is cut by a restriction enzyme to insert the foreign DNA to form a recombinant Ti plasmid. (3) The bacterium transfers the T-DNA fragment with the desired gene (from the recombinant Ti plasmid) into the host plant's nuclear genome. A transgenic plant is generated from genetically modified plant cells.

    Transgenic crops have been created with a variety of different traits, such as yielding more food , tasting better, surviving drought, and resisting insect pests. Scientists have even created a transgenic purple tomato that contains a cancer-fighting compound and others that have high levels of antioxidants (see the  Figure ). 
    ::转基因作物是用多种不同特性创造的,如生产更多食物、更好品尝、幸存干旱和抗虫害。 科学家甚至创造了一种转基因紫色番茄,其中含有抗癌化合物和其他抗氧化剂含量高的植物(见图 ) 。

     
    • Close-up of purple tomatoes on a plant, illustrating a transgenic crop for health benefits.
    • A cluster of ripe red tomatoes with water droplets on green leaves.
    Transgenic Purple Tomato. A purple tomato is genetically modified to contain a cancer-fighting compound. A gene for the compound was transferred into normal red tomatoes.

     

    DID YOU KNOW?
    The first transgenic plant was created in 1982. It was a tobacco plant produced by inserting a bacterial antibiotic resistance gene into its genome .
     

     

     

     

    Applications in Forensic Science
    ::法医学应用

    Biotechnology has also had tremendous impacts in the forensic sciences.  
    ::生物技术也对法医学产生了巨大影响。

     

     

     

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Biotechnology can be used to transform bacteria so they are able to make human proteins, such as insulin.
      ::生物技术可用于改造细菌,以便它们能够制造人类蛋白质,如胰岛素。
    • It can also be used to create transgenic crops, such as crops that yield more food or resist insect pests.
      ::它还可用于制造转基因作物,例如生产更多粮食或抗虫害的作物。
    • Researchers are beginning to look at how to tailor medical treatments to our genetic profiles, in a relatively new field called pharmacogenomics.
      ::研究人员开始研究如何在相对新的领域,即药理工程学领域,根据我们的基因特征调整医疗。

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. What are transgenic crops?
      ::什么是转基因作物?
    2. Make a flow chart outlining the steps involved in creating a transgenic crop.
      ::绘制一个流程图,概述生产转基因作物的步骤。
    3. Explain how bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce a human protein.
      ::解释细菌是如何通过基因工程 产生人类蛋白质的