Biotechnology and its applications Notes for UPSC

Every year, there are 2-3 questions from biotechnology are asked in the UPSC IAS Prelims exam. Students find difficulty in this topic while studying and they are looking for short and crispy notes of Biotechnology and Its Applications for their UPSC exam preparation.

To help students in understanding this difficult topic, we are sharing you with complete Biotechnology Notes for UPSC IAS Exam.

Introduction

It is the application of science in which we study the use of organisms, biological processes, or systems to manufacture products aims to improve the quality of human life.

Biotechnology and Its Applications

Types of Biotechnology

Green Biotechnology

Applied to agricultural processes.
Three main areas of application are Plant tissue culture; Plant genetic engineering and plant molecular marker-assisted breeding.
Biotech is used to make plants pest and drought tolerant.
BT Cotton is an example of bollworm tolerant plant. It is also a transgenic plant.

Red Biotechnology

Concerned with medical sciences, development of innovative drugs and treatment.
Application: Productions of vaccines and antibiotics, regenerative therapies, gene therapy, stem cell therapy etc. are few applications of Red biotech.

Blue Biotechnology

Use of sea resources marine and freshwater organisms to create products and industrial applications.

White Biotechnology

Applied to industrial processes.
Using enzymes as industrial catalysts, usage of moulds, bacteria, yeast etc to produce various goods are few examples of White biotechnology.

Yellow Biotechnology

Biotechnology with insects.
It also refers to the use of biotechnology in food production.

Gray Biotechnology

Application of Biotechnology to environmental applications, maintenance of biodiversity and removal of pollutants.

Brown Biotechnology

Related to the management of Arid Zone and Deserts
Creation of drought-resistant seeds, natural resources management, the creation of agricultural techniques suited to arid landscape etc. are few examples of Brown biotech.

Violet Biotechnology

Related to law, ethical and philosophical issues around biotechnology

Dark Biotechnology

Related to bioterrorism, biological weapons and biowarfare which use microorganisms and toxins to cause diseases, death and disability.

Application of Biotechnology

Medicine
1. Biopharmaceuticals
2. Gene Therapy
3. Pharmacogenomics
4. Genetic testing
Agriculture
1. Genetically modified crops
2. Biofuels
3. Plant and animal reproduction
4. Biofortification
5. Antibiotics
6. Abiotic Stress Resistance
Environment
1. Biomarker
2. Bioenergy
3. Bioremediation
  1. Mycoremediation
  2. Phytoremediation
  3. Microbial remediation