About Book

Biotechnology uses biological processes and living organisms to develop products. It is used in industries such as health care, agriculture, food, etc. It has numerous branches like bioinformatics, green biotechnology, white biotechnology, red biotechnology, blue biotechnology, etc. Some of the best innovations and developments that have come out of biotechnology and allied fields are: genomic sequencing technology, natural alternatives to pesticides, production of biofuels and developments in stem cells technology. With the development of genetic engineering, research in biotechnology developed rapidly because of the new possibility to make changes in the organisms' genetic material (DNA). This book contains recent advances of selected research works that are ongoing in certain biotechnological applications. It unravels the unexplored aspects of biotechnology. It deals with escherichia coli, haloarchaea, management trends, genetic improvement, applications of biotechnology, chloroplast biotechnology, cellular regenerative therapies and biomedical vaccines. While understanding the long-term perspectives of the topics, the book makes an effort in highlighting their impact as a modern tool for the growth of the discipline. This book presents the complex subject of biotechnology and its applications in the most comprehensible and easy to understand language. For all those who are interested in biotechnology, it can prove to be an essential guide.

Preface ..................................................................................................................... v

1 Technical Advances in Chloroplast Biotechnology ........................................ 1

Abstract ........................................................................................................... 1

1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

2. Chloroplast biotechnology—an overview ................................................ 2

3. Making better crops through chloroplast engineering ........................... 3

4. Chloroplasts as trouble-rescue organelles ................................................ 5

5. Advances in plastid functional genomics .................................................. 6

6. Role of synthetic biology in engineering plastid metabolic pathways 8

7. Regulation of RNA editing in chloroplasts ................................................ 9

8. Conclusions and future directions ............................................................ 10

References ..................................................................................................... 11

2. Corn Productivity: The Role of Management and Biotechnology ............ 18

Abstract ......................................................................................................... 18

1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 18

2. Corn productivity ....................................................................................... 20

3. The role of management ............................................................................. 22

4. Corn markets ................................................................................................ 23

5. Prospects for the future .............................................................................. 26

References ..................................................................................................... 29

3. Improving Cassava Quality for Poultry Feeding Through

Application of Biotechnology .......................................................................... 35

Abstract ......................................................................................................... 35

1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 36

2. Nutritional composition of cassava ......................................................... 37

3. Anti-nutritional factors in cassava root.................................................. 40

4. Physical limitation to the use of cassava meal ....................................... 41

5. Effect of feeding raw/unprocessed cassava to poultry .......................... 42

6. Physical processing of cassava for poultry feeding ............................... 42

7. Chemical processing of cassava for poultry feeding .............................. 44

8. Microbial processing of cassava for poultry feeding ............................. 44

9. Improving the feeding value of cassava through processing ............... 46

10. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 51

References ..................................................................................................... 52

4. Applied Biotechnologies in the Conservation of Wild Felids:

In vitro Embryo Production and Cellular Regenerative Therapies ........... 62

Abstract ......................................................................................................... 62

1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 63

2. In vitro embryo production systems in the domestic cat and wild

felids ............................................................................................................... 64

3. Cellular regenerative therapies in felids.................................................. 75

4. Conclusions .................................................................................................. 81

References ..................................................................................................... 81

5. Genetic Improvement of Oilseed Crops Using Modern Biotechnology .. 93

Abstract ......................................................................................................... 93

1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 93

2. Oilseed crops ................................................................................................ 94

3. Understanding metabolic routes in oilseed crops ................................. 96

4. Modern biotechnology for genetic improvement in oilseed crops ...... 98

5. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 112

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 112

References ................................................................................................... 112

6. Biocompounds from Haloarchaea and Their Uses in Biotechnology .... 121

Abstract ....................................................................................................... 121

1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 121

2. Carotenoids ................................................................................................ 123

3. Enzymes ...................................................................................................... 126

4. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) .............................................................. 131

5. Conclusions ................................................................................................ 135

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 135

References ................................................................................................... 136

7. Biotechnologies Applied in Biomedical Vaccines ...................................... 146

Abstract ....................................................................................................... 146

1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 147

2. Biotechnology ............................................................................................. 148

3. Products ...................................................................................................... 151

4. Perspectives ................................................................................................ 153

5. Discussion ................................................................................................... 156

6. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 158

8. Escherichia coli as a Model Organism and Its Application in

Biotechnology ................................................................................................... 162

Abstract ....................................................................................................... 162

1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 162

2. Plasmid and the E. coli revolution ......................................................... 166

3. Genome modifications to understand E. coli ........................................ 170

4. E. coli-based biosensors: tools for many applications ......................... 172

5. Genetic engineering and synthetic biology of E. coli ............................ 175

6. Future .......................................................................................................... 177

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 178

References ................................................................................................... 178

9. Knowledge Management Trends in Biotechnology in Brazil .................. 188

Abstract ....................................................................................................... 188

1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 189

2. Biotechnology in the global market and Brazilian government

programs ..................................................................................................... 190

3. Methodology and recovery documents ................................................. 194

4. Overview of the global scientific development in biotechnology in

Brazil ............................................................................................................ 196

5. Conclusions ................................................................................................ 207

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 208

References ................................................................................................... 209

Citation ................................................................................................................ 213

Index .................................................................................................................... 215

About Author

Gersham Ness received his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Technological University, Legnica. He is an experienced researcher in the varied fields of biotechnology and working as a Scientific Associate at Research Academy, Sinaia. He has authored and edited more than 42 articles, journal papers and book chapters in the field of biotechnology, biological engineering, nanotechnology, medicine, molecular genetics and tissue engineering. His current research activities include biotechnology of drought-tolerant sugarcane, salmonella and biotechnology, gene expression analysis and protein sequence analysis in the field of bioinformatics.