Biotechnology
Biotechnology in prelims is mostly about techniques with names and the bodies that regulate them. Gujarat's own entry point is Bt cotton, which the state grows more of than almost anywhere else in India.
Mental model
Biotechnology in the exam is always 'someone moved a gene, and something changed'. Trace the chain: SOURCE gene → TOOL that cuts and pastes it (restriction enzymes, vectors, PCR) → HOST it goes into (bacterium, plant, animal) → PRODUCT that results (insulin, Bt cotton, a vaccine). Learn the four famous end-products and you can reverse-engineer most questions back up the chain.
Associations
A short trigger on the left, everything it pulls with it on the right.
Bt is a bacterium, not a brand.
Bt cotton carries a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that makes the plant produce a protein toxic to bollworm. Knowing that the 'Bt' is the source organism, not a company, answers most questions about it.
GEAC approves, states permit, courts arbitrate.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the environment ministry is the apex regulator for genetically modified organisms in India. Field trials also need state clearance, which is why GM crop policy is contested across levels of government.
Things to remember
The night-before list. Short enough to recall cold.
- 1Bt cotton is the only genetically modified crop approved for commercial cultivation in India.
- 2The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, regulates genetically modified organisms.
- 3Tissue culture produces genetically identical plants from a small piece of parent tissue, used widely in horticulture.
- 4CRISPR is a gene-editing technique that allows precise changes to be made at a chosen point in the genome.
- 5Recombinant DNA technology is used to make insulin, vaccines and enzymes in microbial hosts.
- 6Biofertilisers such as rhizobium and azotobacter fix atmospheric nitrogen and reduce chemical fertiliser use.
In detail
- Restriction enzymes are the 'molecular scissors' that cut DNA at specific sequences; plasmids act as vectors that carry the gene into a host cell.
- Bt cotton carries a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis that makes the plant toxic to bollworm; it is the genetically modified crop approved for commercial cultivation in India.
- PCR (polymerase chain reaction) makes millions of copies of a small DNA sample and is the basis of DNA-based diagnosis and forensic testing.
- Human insulin was among the first products of recombinant DNA technology, produced by inserting the human gene into bacteria.
- In India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex regulator for release of genetically modified organisms.
Where people slip
- Bt brinjal has been approved by GEAC but is under a moratorium for commercial cultivation. Only Bt cotton is commercially grown.
Check yourself
Nothing here is scored — it will not change your mastery figures.
The 'Bt' in Bt cotton refers to:
From the question bank
The 'Bt' in Bt cotton refers to a gene derived from which organism?
From the question bank
Consider the following statements about genetic engineering: 1. Genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. 2. Recombinant DNA technology involves combining DNA from different sources to create new genetic combinations. 3. Genetically Modified (GM) crops always contain genes from animals. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Books to read
- NCERT Class XII — Biology
- Science and Technology for Civil Services — Ravi P Agrahari
Official sources
Hand-checked official domains only — the notes above carry no links of their own.