Page 1
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “ National Mission
on Education Through ICT”
Discipline: Botany
Paper: Plant Biotechnology
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla
Lesson: Biosafety Concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Lesson Developer: Dr. Ashima Khurana
Department of Botany, Zakir Hussain Delhi College,
University of Delhi and
Dr. Rahul Kumar
RTGR, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Lesson Reviewer: Dr Manoj Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of
Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Language Editor: Namrata Dhaka
Department/College: Department of Genetics, University of Delhi,
South Campus
Lesson Editor: Dr Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL
Page 2
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “ National Mission
on Education Through ICT”
Discipline: Botany
Paper: Plant Biotechnology
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla
Lesson: Biosafety Concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Lesson Developer: Dr. Ashima Khurana
Department of Botany, Zakir Hussain Delhi College,
University of Delhi and
Dr. Rahul Kumar
RTGR, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Lesson Reviewer: Dr Manoj Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of
Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Language Editor: Namrata Dhaka
Department/College: Department of Genetics, University of Delhi,
South Campus
Lesson Editor: Dr Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2
Learning outcomes
After reading this Chapter, the reader should be able to understand:
? The importance of biotechnology
? Applications of various branches of biotechnology
? Concerns related to biotechnology
? Need for biosafety
? The principles of biosafety
? Different levels of biosafety
? National and international regulations of biosafety.
Page 3
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “ National Mission
on Education Through ICT”
Discipline: Botany
Paper: Plant Biotechnology
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla
Lesson: Biosafety Concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Lesson Developer: Dr. Ashima Khurana
Department of Botany, Zakir Hussain Delhi College,
University of Delhi and
Dr. Rahul Kumar
RTGR, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Lesson Reviewer: Dr Manoj Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of
Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Language Editor: Namrata Dhaka
Department/College: Department of Genetics, University of Delhi,
South Campus
Lesson Editor: Dr Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2
Learning outcomes
After reading this Chapter, the reader should be able to understand:
? The importance of biotechnology
? Applications of various branches of biotechnology
? Concerns related to biotechnology
? Need for biosafety
? The principles of biosafety
? Different levels of biosafety
? National and international regulations of biosafety.
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 3
Chapter: Biosafety Concerns in Biotechnology
Table of Contents
? Introduction
? Applications of biotechnology
? Branches of Biotechnology
? Red biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with red
biotechnology
? Green biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with green
biotechnology
? White biotechnology
? Blue biotechnology
? Concerns associated with biotechnology
? Risks to human/animal health
? Concerns due to antibiotic resistance genes
? Food safety
? Risks to environment
? Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)
? Super weeds due to herbicide resistance genes
? Impact on soil fertility
? Impacts on biodiversity
? General concerns
? Definition of biosafety
? Principles of biosafety
? Guidelines for biosafety
? Risk analysis
? Risk assessment
? Risk management
? Risk Communication
? Containment
? Physical containment
? Biological containment
? Gene containment
? Biosafety Levels (BSLs)
? Biosafety level 1
? Biosafety level 2
? Biosafety level 3
Page 4
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “ National Mission
on Education Through ICT”
Discipline: Botany
Paper: Plant Biotechnology
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla
Lesson: Biosafety Concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Lesson Developer: Dr. Ashima Khurana
Department of Botany, Zakir Hussain Delhi College,
University of Delhi and
Dr. Rahul Kumar
RTGR, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Lesson Reviewer: Dr Manoj Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of
Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Language Editor: Namrata Dhaka
Department/College: Department of Genetics, University of Delhi,
South Campus
Lesson Editor: Dr Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2
Learning outcomes
After reading this Chapter, the reader should be able to understand:
? The importance of biotechnology
? Applications of various branches of biotechnology
? Concerns related to biotechnology
? Need for biosafety
? The principles of biosafety
? Different levels of biosafety
? National and international regulations of biosafety.
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 3
Chapter: Biosafety Concerns in Biotechnology
Table of Contents
? Introduction
? Applications of biotechnology
? Branches of Biotechnology
? Red biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with red
biotechnology
? Green biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with green
biotechnology
? White biotechnology
? Blue biotechnology
? Concerns associated with biotechnology
? Risks to human/animal health
? Concerns due to antibiotic resistance genes
? Food safety
? Risks to environment
? Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)
? Super weeds due to herbicide resistance genes
? Impact on soil fertility
? Impacts on biodiversity
? General concerns
? Definition of biosafety
? Principles of biosafety
? Guidelines for biosafety
? Risk analysis
? Risk assessment
? Risk management
? Risk Communication
? Containment
? Physical containment
? Biological containment
? Gene containment
? Biosafety Levels (BSLs)
? Biosafety level 1
? Biosafety level 2
? Biosafety level 3
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 4
? Biosafety level 4
? Regulations for biosafety
? International regulations
? Biosafety regulations in India
? Current status of risk assessment of transgenic crops
? Summary
? Exercise/ Practice
? Glossary
? References/ Further Reading
Page 5
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 1
Lesson Prepared Under MHRD project “ National Mission
on Education Through ICT”
Discipline: Botany
Paper: Plant Biotechnology
National Coordinator: Prof. S.C. Bhatla
Lesson: Biosafety Concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Lesson Developer: Dr. Ashima Khurana
Department of Botany, Zakir Hussain Delhi College,
University of Delhi and
Dr. Rahul Kumar
RTGR, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Lesson Reviewer: Dr Manoj Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of
Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Language Editor: Namrata Dhaka
Department/College: Department of Genetics, University of Delhi,
South Campus
Lesson Editor: Dr Rama Sisodia, Fellow in Botany ILLL
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2
Learning outcomes
After reading this Chapter, the reader should be able to understand:
? The importance of biotechnology
? Applications of various branches of biotechnology
? Concerns related to biotechnology
? Need for biosafety
? The principles of biosafety
? Different levels of biosafety
? National and international regulations of biosafety.
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 3
Chapter: Biosafety Concerns in Biotechnology
Table of Contents
? Introduction
? Applications of biotechnology
? Branches of Biotechnology
? Red biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with red
biotechnology
? Green biotechnology
? Concerns/Risks associated with green
biotechnology
? White biotechnology
? Blue biotechnology
? Concerns associated with biotechnology
? Risks to human/animal health
? Concerns due to antibiotic resistance genes
? Food safety
? Risks to environment
? Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)
? Super weeds due to herbicide resistance genes
? Impact on soil fertility
? Impacts on biodiversity
? General concerns
? Definition of biosafety
? Principles of biosafety
? Guidelines for biosafety
? Risk analysis
? Risk assessment
? Risk management
? Risk Communication
? Containment
? Physical containment
? Biological containment
? Gene containment
? Biosafety Levels (BSLs)
? Biosafety level 1
? Biosafety level 2
? Biosafety level 3
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 4
? Biosafety level 4
? Regulations for biosafety
? International regulations
? Biosafety regulations in India
? Current status of risk assessment of transgenic crops
? Summary
? Exercise/ Practice
? Glossary
? References/ Further Reading
Biosafety concerns in Plant Biotechnology
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 5
Introduction
Biotechnology can be simply defined as technology based on biology. It uses living
systems and organisms to develop technologies and products which are useful to our
lives and improve the health of our planet. This term was coined by a Hungarian
engineer, Karl Ereky, in 1919. As per the UN convention on biological diversity,
biotechnology is defined as, “any technological application that uses biological system or
living organisms to make or modify the process or products for specific use". In the
modern times, biotechnological advancement is contributing in almost all aspects of
human life, including development of breakthrough products and technology to fight rare
diseases, production of plant resources with either higher nutritional values (such as
golden rice) and/or enhanced ability to thrive in unfavorable environmental conditions
(such as drought resistant plants) to alleviate the pressing need for more food,
production of cleaner energy fuels (such as bioethanol from lignocellulosic waste using
biocatalysts such as enzymes, yeast in fermentation process) and also development of
cleaner, safer and better industrial manufacturing processes (such as use of biopulping
instead of thermomechanical pulping in paper making can reduce consumption of
electrical energy by 30 per cent). The contribution of biotechnology to our day-to-day life
can be estimated by the facts that currently over 250 health care products/vaccines are
available in the markets world over, over 13 million farmers use agricultural
biotechnology tools/products for increasing yields, preventing losses from insects/pests
and minimizing impact of farming on environment etc. Although, it has tremendously
supported the human survival, some biosafety concerns are also associated with it. In
this chapter, we will first briefly discuss the applications of biotechnology and its
branches followed by the issues/concerns on biotechnological tools/practices and the
biosafety measures.
Applications of biotechnology
Although biotechnology plays an integral part in our lives in innumerable ways, it
received the much needed attention only in the last three decades when new and
environmental friendly alternative methods were explored to help human survival.
Initially the use of biotechnology were confined to a few processes such as , conversion
of milk to yogurt or cheese is facilitated by involvement of bacteria or the process of
fermentation which is used to bake breads and make wine involves biological activity of
single celled microorganism called yeast. However, in the last three decades notable
advancement in the biotechnological tools has been observed and there are innumerable
examples of use of these tools in producing the breathtaking products. Some of the
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