Question

Explain animal biotechnology and its applications or write on essay

Answer 1

Animal biotechnology is a branch of biotechnology in which molecular biology techniques are used to genetically engineer (i.e. modify the genome of) animals in order to improve their suitability for pharmaceutical, agricultural or industrial applications.

And it's application:-

Animal biotechnology has many potential uses. Since the early 1980s, transgenic animals have been created with increased growth rates, enhanced lean muscle mass, enhanced resistance to disease or improved use of dietary phosphorous to lessen the environmental impacts of animal manure. Transgenic poultry, swine, goats and cattle that generate large quantities of human proteins in eggs, milk, blood or urine also have been produced, with the goal of using these products as human pharmaceuticals. Human pharmaceutical proteins include enzymes, clotting factors, albumin and antibodies. The major factor limiting the widespread use of transgenic animals in agricultural production systems is their relatively inefficient production rate (a success rate of less than 10 percent).

A specific example of these particular applications of animal biotechnology is the transfer of the growth hormone gene of rainbow trout directly into carp eggs. The resulting transgenic carp produce both carp and rainbow trout growth hormones and grow to be one-third larger than normal carp. Another example is the use of transgenic animals to clone large quantities of the gene responsible for a cattle growth hormone. The hormone is extracted from the bacterium, is purified and is injected into dairy cows, increasing their milk production by 10 to 15 percent. That growth hormone is called bovine somatotropin or BST.

Another major application of animal biotechnology is the use of animal organs in humans. Pigs currently are used to supply heart valves for insertion into humans, but they also are being considered as a potential solution to the severe shortage in human organs available for transplant procedures.