What is biology?

 Biology is the study of all living organisms from the

smallest bacteria to the biggest blue whales.
 Why we study biology? It helps us
 To determine where diseases come from and the factor
that causes diseases
 To control the spread of infectious diseases
 To know where pests come from
 To understand the evolution of living organisms
 To discover new drugs and vaccines
Application in conservation of natural resources
 Conservation is the act of preserving and protecting of
natural resources. OR
 Conservation is the sustainable and wise use of natural
resources to prevent them from extinct.
 Nature is the natural, physical, material world.
 Natural resources: - are resources (actual or potential) that
exist in nature and are useful for human being.
 It includes soil, water, air, plants, animals and energy.
 Ethiopia has many natural resources like gold, platinum,
potash, limestone, natural gas, coal, lakes, volcanic oceans
water fall etc…
Con’t…
 Conservation biology is the scientific study of nature
with the aim of protecting biodiversity, their habitats,
and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction.
 Natural resources can be classified as:

1. Renewable:-found in unlimited quantity and they can

be replaced and reused again and again.
 They are mainly living organism and their products
that can replace themselves by reproduction and
recycle.
 Example: - air, solar energy, water, plant. Animal
and microorganism.
 If renewable resources are not managed carefully ,
con,’t…
2. Non-renewable: are found in a limited amount(finite) and
can’t be replaced as the same speed as that are used up.
 E.g. diamond, gold, iron, coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil
 They must be used sparingly
 renewable energy sources are more beneficial to planet
 Coppicing and having a continual cycle of planting trees
to replace the one being cut down.
 Biologists works to conserving animals and plants from
extinction by:
 Establishing zoo, national park, seed bank
 Reducing habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation
 Creating awareness the need for conservation natural resources
Why we conserve natural resources?
 Because some natural resources can’t be replaced and may
run out due to overuse.
 To balance the amount of resources that we have and the
amount we need.
Ethical reason
Economical reason
Aesthetic value and
Prevent O3 depletion etc
1.2. food and nutrition security
 Food security is the state in which all people, at all times,
have physical, social and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
 Low food security is reduced quality, variety of diet
 Food insecurity is a situation that exists when people lack
secure access sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious
food for normal growth and active and healthy life
 Food insecurity debilitates society by increasing
mortality, diseases and disability.
 The world food program classifies 3 hunger conditions.
 Malnutrition: refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a
person’s intake of energy or nutrient. OR
Con’t..
 Malnutrition:- lack of food quality (food content) or
lack of essential nutrients in the food.
 Wasting: it is severe weight loss due to acute malnutrition
resulting from starvation.
Undernourishment: when individual’s food consumption is
insufficient to provide the amount of energy required to
maintain a normal, active and healthy life.
 Prolonged undernourishment (the sense of insufficient
calories) stunts growth, slows cognitive development
and increase susceptibility to illness
 Nutrition security: all people have consistent and
equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods
essential optimal health and well-being
 Under-nutrition is the result of prolonged low
levels of food intake and low absorption of food
consumed
 Undernourishment (chronic hunger) the status
of persons, whose food intake regularly
provides less than their minimum energy
requirements
Con’t…
 Nutrition security looks at the nutritional value,
affordability, accessibility, and safety of foods that
promote well-being.
 Food secured is ensured only if
1. Enough food is available for all people
2. All individual have the capacity to buy food
3. All people utilize the right kind of food (food quality)
4. There is no barrier to access food
 Biology plays role in producing high nutrient staple
crops and new products to improve food utilization.
 Biotechnologists design manufacturing process to
produce large quantity of food and drink with good
flavor, color and texture to ensure food security.
 Con’t…
Chronic food insecurity Transitory food insecurity
• Is long term or persistent • Is short term or temporary
• Occurs when people are • Occurs when there is a
unable to meet their sudden drop in the ability to
minimum food produce or access enough
requirements over sustained food to maintain a good
period of time nutritional status
• Results from periods of • Results from short term
poverty and inadequate shocks and fluctuation in
access to productive food availability and food
access, including year to
year variations in demotic
food production and food
prices
For me
 Food security for a household means access by all
members at all times to enough food for an active,
healthy life.
 The main dimensions (pillars ) of food security
1. Physical availability of food: sufficient food must be
produced on a consistent basis
2. Economic access: ability to obtain food, including
effects of price
3. Food utilization: food must be prepared and consumed
appropriately as well as availability of adequate clean
water and sanitation to prevent food borne disease
4. Food stability: availability, access and utilization of food
FACTORS OF FOOD SECURITY
 Global food supply is not even because some produce
more food than others.
 Both physical and human factors affect food security.
1. Climate
2. Technology
3. Pests and diseases
4. Water stress
5. Conflict
6. Loss of farm land
7. Poverty : when people have less money, they can’t
afford food and unable to work
 Impact of food insecurity
 Famine: people starve
 Soil erosion: occur more rapidly in very dry areas
 Deforestation, overgrazing and overcultivation: expose
soil to wind and water erosion
 Rising prices: less food available leads to increase food
prices
 Social unrest: when food supplies are low people have
to fight for their survival
 Costs: the price of cooking oil, sugar, flour etc doubled
within short period of time
Effects of food insecurity
War and conflict Climate change
Poor nutrition Food wastes
Gender inequality Forced migration
Terms
 Hunger: uncomfortable or painful sensation caused by
insufficient food consumption or result of food
insecurity.
 Overnutrition: too fat for height and age
 Wasting: too thin for height
 Stunting: too short for age
 Good nutrition status or may suffer micronutrient
deficiencies
1.3. creating conscious citizens and ensuring
sustainable development
 Conscious citizen is a person who places value on
being fully human while connecting with a higher
purpose.
 Conscious citizen takes responsibility for transforming
skill into action through ethical decision making to
improve life and living on the planet.
 Global Conscious citizen is one who understand the
wider world and their place in it.
 They play an active role in their community and work
with others to make our planet more peaceful and
sustainable.
 Con’t…
 Global conscious citizen respect any cultural diversity,
human right and solve the problem of the world.
 Conscious biologists uses the knowledge of biology:
 To solve health related problems
 To recycle, reuse and reduce the production of wastes
 To find out ways to clean up pollution
 To ensure sustainable development
 To produce sufficient production to overcome food insecurity.
 To protect and manage natural resources and
 To minimize the impact of chemicals released from industry
How do we become a conscious citizen?
 A conscious citizen remains alive to his own
responsibilities and duties.
 The become eager to take any step for state
development
 A responsible citizen has knowledge about her or his
role in community, state and the world.
 They play a role to make the world better place to live.
 They stand against injustice in social, economic and
environmental sectors.
Con’t…
 According to the world conservation union there are
three (3) model for sustainable developments, they are:
1. Economic
 Viability of tourism in the area
 Viability of companies demand satisfaction
2. Social
 Benefit to local society
 Employment
 Respect for socio-cultural values
3. Environmental
 Preserving biodiversity
 Rational use of natural resources
What is career development?
 Career development is the process of managing life,
learning and work over through out his/her life.
 It helps to set a goal and acquire skill to achieve it.
 Career strategy is any behavior, activity or experience
designed to help a person meet their goals
 There are short and long term career planning strategy
 Good career citizen must set SMART goals
 Specific
 Measurable
 Attainable or achievable
 Relevant / reliable
 Time bounded
APPLICATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Define
Biotechnology
?
*Biotechnology: is the use of technology to use (modify)
the part of living organisms or their products to make
useful products that benefit human.
Example: drug, food supplements, enzyme etc)
*Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is an organism
that have received genetic material through recombinant
DNA technology.
*GMO is any living things whose DNA has been changed
in a way that would not occur in nature.
*If an organism has received genetic material from
another species, it is said to be Transgenic organism.
*A gene which transferred from one species into another
is called a transgene.
*Crop plants can be genetically modified to
increase their yield, nutritional value and diseases
resistant.
*Biotechnology can be used in the prevention and
mitigation of industrial, agricultural and municipal
wastes.
*It can be also used in the diagnosis and treatments
of diseases.

Application of biology in food

processing and production
Con’t…
 Microorganisms can be used to increase food
productivity.

 Single-cell proteins (SCP):- is produced from waste

materials such as molasses from sugar refining,
petroleum by-products and agricultural wastes.
 SCP is a generic term for crude or refined protein
whose origin is yeast, fungi, algae and bacteria
which are grown for human and animal consumption.
 It is an idea to solve global food scarcity and give relief
to the agriculture sector which uses large area for
production of protein crops
 Con’t
 SCP has many advantages, such as
 high protein content
 contains all the essential amino acids
 some microorganisms are highly rich in vitamins
 high ratio of surface area to volume
 high growth rate
 independence of cultivable land and climate
 eco-friendly and cost effective
 * Con’t…
*In developed countries, pruteen is produced by growing
Methylophilus methylotrophus bacteria to feed their
animals.
*Pruteen is the first
*Mycoprotein, means ‘protein from fungus’.
* It is produced using the fungus Fusarium venenatum,
*It contains more proteins and low in fat which can
substitute meat for human consumption.
.
Con’t…
Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria)
that is rich in proteins, vitamin, mineral, carotenoids etc
that can be consumed by human and animals.
It is harvested from the surface of lakes and ponds
which can be eaten in its natural form or added to other
foods and beverages.
It becomes as a primary nutrient sources in some part of
Africa, Asia, and Mexico.
Vitamin C was the first vitamin to be produced during a
fermentation process by using bacteria.
Before Vit. B12 (Cyanocobalamin) &Vit.B2 (Riboflavin)
were obtained from animal liver extract but nowadays it
is produced by fermentation of propionic bacteria.
.

 Vit.B2 is naturally found in cereals, vegetables and

yeast but it can be enhanced hundred or more fold by
using microbes.
a. Dairy products: microbes are useful to make dairy
product with desired consistency and flavor
 Buttermilk is made by adding Streptococcus cremoris to
pasteurized skim milk (low fat milk).
 Streptococcus lactis, S.diacetylactis, Leuconostoc
citrovorum, L.cremoris and L.dextranicum can be used to
make buttermilk with different flavor
 Sour cream is made by adding one of these microbes to
cream.
 Yoghurt = Streptococcus thermophilus and
Lactobacillus bulgaricus + milk
…
 Acidophilus milk = Lactobacillus acidophilus + sterile milk
 Sterilization prevent uncontrolled fermentation by

microorganisms present in milk.

 Bulgarian milk is made by L.bulgaricus which is similar to

buttermilk but it is more acidic and lacks the flavor imparted

by the leuconostocs.
b. Fermented meats
 Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus cerevisiae add
flavor by fermenting meats (like salami, summer sausage,
and Lebanon bologna).
 The heterolactic acid fermentation helps preserve meat and
give tangy flavor.
 Penicillium and Aspergillus fungi which grow naturally on
the surface of country hams, help to produce their distinctive
flavor.
* Con’t…

c. Production of beer, wine, and spirits

*Both beer and wine are non-distilled alcoholic beverages
made from partially germinated cereal grains and fruits
(grapes) respectively.
*Spirits (such as whiskey, gin and rum, brandy, vodka) are
distilled alcoholic beverages made from juices.
*Distillation is a process of converting a mixture liquid into
vapours and then into liquid by condensation process.
*The following raw materials are required for beer brewing:
Water
Malt usually barley malt
Hops
yeast
 Steps in beer brewery process
Malting: cereal grain are partially germinated to increase
the concentration of starch digesting enzymes that provide
the sugar fermentation.
Mashing: malted grain is crushed and mixed with hot water
to produce mash
 In other word, it is a process of converting malt into
fermentable sugars
 Sweet wort obtained from the mash is transferred to a
copper (kettle) for boiling along with dried hops.
 Boiling used to stop enzyme action and precipitate
proteins.
 Hop give beer its bitter flavour, inhibit certain beer
spoilage bacteria and maintain foam stability.
 Con’t…
• The dominant types of yeast used to make beer are
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also called ale yeast).
• This yeast strains is added to proceed the fermentation
process in order to produce alcohol, CO2 and other
substances (like amyl and isoamyl alcohols, and acetic
and butyric acids)
• After fermentation, the yeast is removed and the beer is
filtered, pasteurized and bottled.
wine making
• There are many types of wine such as grapes, peach,
pear, dandelion, nuts, blossoms etc.
• But the most common types of wine is the one which
made from fermented grapes juice.
 .

 Crushed grapes will undergo a natural fermentation

process that produce inconsistent and insufficient
amount of ethanol (wine).
 In commercial process Juice is treated with SO2 or
sometimes pasteurized to destroy any wild yeasts.
 Then the right strain of Saccharomyces ellipsoideus are
added to keep the fermentation process to produce
ethyl alcohol (wine) and other substances.
 After fermentation liquid wine is cleared with agents
like charcoal to remove particles.
 Wine occurs in two distinct types (white and red)
 White wine are made from white grapes or can be
made from red grapes which its skin is removed.
.

Spirits
Spiritis a class of alcoholic drinks w/h are unsweetened and
produced by distillation of fermented base.
The fermented base may be molasses (by-product of sugar
industry), fruit juices, cereal extract or sometime a
combination of many fermentable substrates.
Alcoholic Base material Alcoholic
beverage materials
Whisky Cereal (barley, rye, corn malt) 40-55%
Rum Molasses 40-55%
Brandy Fruit juice (grapes) 35-60%
Vodka Cereals, potatoes 38-40%
Cider Apple juice , other fruits 2-7%
Gin Wheat and rye 37-50%
Bread making
 Bread is still another product of microbial action.
 Microbes accomplish three main functions in bread making
1. Leavening the dough
2. Imparting flavor and odor
3. Conditioning the dough to make it workable
 Leavening is the production of gases in the baked product
to increase volume and to produce shape & texture
 baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)is the common
strain of yeast used as a leavening agent in baking bread
 Yeast respires aerobically to converts the fermentable
sugars (maltose or glucose) present in the dough into CO 2
and H2O rather than alcohol
Con’t…
Carbon dioxide causes the dough to rise and creates the soft
texture of bread.
Bread texture also come from kneading and from microbial
enzymes which break down flour proteins (gluten)
Gluten is a protein forms when wheat flour is mixed with
water which gives dough its elasticity and texture or shape
Any small amount of ethanol that may be produced is
evaporated during the baking process.
Other microbes like coliform (gas forming), some
clostridium species, heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria
and wild yeast can be used to make bread.
Yeast and mixture can impart unique flavors depending on
the culture mixture and baking techniques used.
Con’t…
• E.g. the pungent flavor of rye bread comes from
starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria such as:
Lactobacillus plantarum
L.brevis.
L.bulgaricus.
Leuconostoc mesenteroides.
Streptococcus thermophilus
• Sourdough bread gets its unique tang flavor from
Lactobacillus sanfrancisc.
• Generally, many other popular foodstuffs are the result
of microbial fermentation processes.
• These include injera, vinegar, soy sauce etc…
GENETIC ENGINEERING (GENETIC MODIFICATION)
 It is a process of modifying (altering) a genome of an
organism by transferring a foreign DNA from one
organism into another organism.
 Genetic Engineering is the process of altering a DNA

structure by either adding or removing genes from it to

form a newer gene with desirable characteristics.
Genetic engineering is being used in:
The production of pharmaceuticals and pharming
Gene therapy
The development of transgenic plant and
The development of transgenic animal
.
.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUdZDeY
EHko
 Animal breeding
 Is a process of choosing best organisms or organisms with
superior traits in breeding.
 Animal’s with superior traits means organisms that:
 Can lay more egg
 Produce sufficient milk
 Provide enough meat
 Have high growth rate
 Can resist diseases
 Produce more wool etc
 Example: Breeding is important to develop new and
improved strain of livestock.

CON’T…
 The practical application of transgenic technology in
livestock production includes:
 Enhancing the prolificacy
 Increasing feed utilization

 Increasing growth rate

 Improving milk production

 Modification of hair or fiber

 Increasing diseases resistance

 Selective breeding can be inbreeding or cross-breeding.

 Inbreeding is a type of breeding between related

varieties of a species. OR
 Inbreeding allows the continuity of (sustain) desirable

characteristics.
Con’t…
• But, prolonged inbreeding increases homozygosity and
this in turn leads to:
Reduced fertility
Reduced disease resistance and reduce productivity
• Cross-breeding is a type of breeding between unrelated
lines or varieties of the same species.
• The offspring are called hybrids vigour which usually
show phenotypically better than their parent.
• Hybride vigour is reduced when animals produced by
cross-breeding are mated together.
• Generally cross-breeding:
increase heterozygosity
Increase productivity and
Tissue culture
 Is a technique in which a single cell, fragment of tissue, or
whole/ part of organ from either plants or animals is
transferred to an artificial environment (nutrient media) in
which they can continue to survive and function.
 Plant tissue culture is widely used to produce clones of a
plant by micropropagation method.
E.g. palm tree, carrot, banana, orchids etc…
Advantage of tissue culture technology
In a small area, Sufficient food with desired quality can be
produced
To rapid produce disease free plants and rapid many uniform
plants (monoculture)
To regenerate the whole plants from genetically modified
plant cell
Tissue culture
Health and wellbeing's
 Genetically modified bacteria produces a range of
products, such as:
Enzyme for the food industry
Thermostable enzymes for washing powders
Human growth hormone for dwarfism
Bovine or porcine somatotrophin to increase milk
yield and muscle development in cattle
Insulin for diabetic
Tissue plasminogen activator for heart attack victim
 Antibiotic Production
 Are organic compounds derived from a microorganisms
produced synthetically, that destroys or limits the growth
of a living organisms.
 Antibiotics is produced by both bacteria and fungi that
live in the soil but it is not their fermentation by product.
 Actinomycetes is the filamentous bacteria that resemble
microscopic mold fungi which produce antibiotics.
 Streptomycin is an antibiotic produced from
actinomycete streptomyces which is used to treat TB,
pneumonia, E.coli and other infections caused by certain
bacteria
 Penicillin is the best known antibiotics which is produced
by the mutant species of Penicillium (mold fungi).
 Con’t…
 The penicillin types are chemically altered or modified to
make them more effective and to tailor them for use with
different diseases.
Antibiotic mechanism of action
 Inhibit bacterial cell wall (block murein) synthesis
 Alter the function and permeability of the cell membrane
 Inhibit protein synthesis
 Inhibit nucleic acid synthesis
 Bacteriostatic:- prevent bacteria from reproducing
 Bacteriocidal:- kill bacteria
 E.g Ampicillin, Methicillin, Oxacillin are examples of
antibiotics.
…
 Antibiotics do not damage human cells because:
Animal do not have cell wall
The cell structures involved in protein production are
different
 Some vaccines are produced by microbial fermentation.
 Example vaccine for Bordetella pertussis,Salmonella typhi,
Vibrio cholerae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis
 Corynebacterium diphtheriae for the synthesis of their
toxins, for which toxoids for the DT vaccines are prepared
 Primary metabolite is a kind of metabolite that is directly
involved in the normal growth, development & reproduction
 Secondary metabolites is a derivative primary metabolites
 E.g. Phenolic, steroids, antibiotics, pigments
 Biosensors
 A sensor is a converter that measures a physical quantity
& converts into a signal w/h can be read by an instrument
 Bioelectronic, living microorganism (e.g their enzymes
and organelles) are linked with electrodes, and
biological reactions are converted into electrical signal
by biosensor.
 A biosensor is an analytical device that detects an
analyte (e.g. proteins, toxin, vitamin, sugar, antibody,
enzymes, DNA, tissue…), that converts a biological
responses into an electrical currents or thermal signals.
 Biosensors are developed to measure specific
components present in beer, to monitor pollutants and
to detect flavor compounds in food.
 For me
 Biosensors are devices or probes that employ a biological
element for measuring the concentration of desired
substances
 Biosensors is an analytical device which uses enzymes,
antibody, tissues that converts biological responses into
electrical, thermal or optical signals
 Biosensor consists two components
1. Sensing element :may be enzymes, antibodies, DNA, tissue
or the whole cells
2. Transducer device: is a device that converts a signal in one
form energy to another form of energy
 Biological elements viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa,
plant and animal
.

 It detects the presence and concentrations of a specific

substance in any test solution
 It is possible to measures and detect the concentration of
substances, such as glucose, acetic acid, glutamic acid,
ethanol, and biochemical oxygen demand, nicotinic acid,
vitamin B etc.
 Recently immunochemical biosensors are developed to
detect pathogens, herbicides, toxins, proteins and DNA in
any test solution.
 Biosensor also detects the presence of aflatoxin based on
immunoaffinity fluorometric procedure to monitor food
quality.
 Glucometer biosensor used to detect blood glucose level
(for diagnosis of diabetes mellitus)
 Application
 Disease detection: to detect the presence of
different kinds of diseases in human body.
 Environmental monitoring: the detection of
pesticides and river water contaminates
 Food quality monitoring: to monitor the freshness
of food and to detect the presence of toxin or
pathogen in food.
 Drug discovery and evaluation of biological activity
of new compounds
 Water quality management
 Soil quality monitoring
Forensic science or DNA fingerprinting
 Is a technique used to identify a criminal individual from
sample of DNA by looking at unique pattern of their DNA.
 Biological samples used for forensics are:-
Blood (WBCs), Hair, Saliva, Semen, Skin, Nasal mucus
Body tissue cells
Any cell that has a nucleus can be used as a sample
 DNA fingerprinting is also used to establish paternity
 The probability of having two people with the same DNA
fingerprint that are not identical twins is very rare.
 Every individual has unique fingerprints that don’t change
throughout life.
.

 Now day’s, bioinformatics is widely acceptable in the

forensic science because it makes easy and reliable to
gather biological evidence regarding the crime scene
with the help of computational tools.
 A DNA sample taken from a crime scene is compared
with a DNA sample from a suspect.
 If the two DNA profiles are a match, then the evidence
came from that suspect.
 Conversely, if the two DNA profiles do not match, then
the evidence cannot have come from the suspect.
 The chance of two random individual that can share the
same genetic pattern is approximately 1 in 10 billion.
 Fragments are separated on the basis of size by a process
called gel electrophoresis
 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is used to copy DNA
(gene) several times.
Summary
 DNA fingerprinting: is used to identify individuals
based on their unique DNA sequences.
 It helps in:
 Forensic investigation
○ To match crime evidence with suspects
 Paternity testing
○ To determine biological dad or mom of a child
 Organ transplantation
○ To find compatible organ donors for organ recipient
 Ancestry tracing
○ Trace the origin and migration of human population
Application in biomining
1. Microbiological mining
 Biomining can be defined as the extraction of specific
minerals from their ores through biological process
(usually microorganisms).
 Biohydrometallurgy is a new discipline that uses
microbes to extract metals from mineral-rich ores.
 Bioleaching is the ability of microbes to solubilize metals
from insoluble metals.
 Copper and other metals were thought to be leached from
wastes as a result of an inorganic chemical reactions.
 The modern era of booming began with the discovery of
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacterium.
…

 Thiobacillus ferrooxidans is the most commonly used

microorganism in bioleaching to extract pure metals.
 It is chemo-lithotrophic acidophilic bacterium that lives
by oxidizing the sulfur that binds with copper, Zinc, lead,
uranium…and releases the pure metals during the process
 Copper in low-grade ore is often present as copper
sulfide that soaked with weak sulfuric acid wash.
 Then the acid reacts with the ores sulfide matrix and
encourages the growth of bacterial strain which start to
degrade ore and releases minerals or metal in fluid form.
 T. ferrooxidans obtains energy by oxidizing the sulfur
atoms in sulfide ores (copper sulfide) to sulphate.
 The copper can’t be used by the bacterium, rather it will be
converted into H2O soluble form that can be retrieved and
Con’t…
 Thiobacillus ferrooxidans also releases iron from iron
sulfide by the same process.
 Both T. ferrooxidans and T. thiooxidans degrade some
copper and iron ores more rapidly than alone.
 The another most common types of microbes which is used
for biomining is Leptosprillium ferrooxidans.
 Both L. ferrooxidans and T. organoparus in combination
can degrades pyrite (FeS2) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) but
they can’t degrade the mineral alone or separately.
 Other bacteria can be used to:
 To mine uranium
 To remove arsenic, lead, zinc, cobalt , gold etc
 Todays fewer mining companies are actually using
Solid waste treatment
 Waste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, junk and
garbage) is any unwanted or useless materials.
 Solid waste is defined as non-liquid and non soluble
materials released from any house or institutions.
 It is the process of collecting and treating solid waste
for further reuse or proper disposal.
 Solid wastes can be divided into two distinct categories
1. Biodegradable
are materials that can be easily degraded or broken down
naturally by microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi)
For example, food waste, paper, vegetable peels and other
kitchen waste, textiles, fruits, tea leaves, wood, etc.
Con’t…
2. Non-biodegradable
 Non-biodegradable materials are those materials, which
cannot be broken down easily, and retain their form for
a long period of time.
 For example, metals, tin, glass, plastics, rubble etc.

Methods of disposal
1. Landfills:
 are usually large holes in the ground which used to dispose
non-hazardous solid wastes to prevent the damage of human
and environment health.
 The modern landfills that contains many solid wastes that
can generate methane (used as a fuel source ) by anaerobic
microbes after a long time.
Con’t…

2. Composting:
 Biodegradable organic wastes like vegetable peels, egg
shells, waste food, leaves, animal wastes etc can be
converted into manure by burying them in compost pit
 In other word, fungi and actinomycetes bacteria are used to
break down the organic waste matter to produce CO2, water
and humus
 Composite is not really fertilizer because it contains less
nitrogen content but composite adds nutrient to improve soil
quality.
 It also reduces the volume of disposed wastes by other
means.
3. Incineration:
 Burning of solid organic wastes to convert into gaseous product.
Waste water (sewage) treatment
 Wastewater can be defined as the flow of used water or
liquid wastes discharged from institutions, commercial
industries and homes and which is directed to treatment
plants.
 Sewage is the term used to describe liquid wastes that
contain human or animal faecal matter.
 The main aim of wastewater treatment is to remove any
hazardous (pollutant) substances and pathogens present
in the waste water
 Then it can be discharged into water bodies or purified
further for drinking purpose.
 Waste water treatment greatly reduces the water born
diseases like cholera
Con’t…

 The effectiveness of the treatment process is measured by

reduction of the wastewater's biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD).
 BOD is the measure of the oxygen used by microbes to
breakdown the organic matter present in the wastewater.
 Higher BOD indicates more oxygen is required to degrade
the large amounts of degradable materials present in the
test water.
 Low BOD value means less O2 is being removed from
water, so water is generally purer.
 The role of microbes in waste treatment is to treat or purify
wastewater and make it less harmful to the environment
 There are three well-known microbes that keep sewage
clean
For me
 A high BOD refers large quantity of organic waste
in the water supply, large number bacteria present
to decompose this waste
 In this case, the demand for oxygen will be high so
the BOD level will be high
Stages of waste water treatment
 There are three main stages of waste water treatment
1. Primary treatment
 Is a purely physical process designed to remove floating
objects and materials that will settle (sediment) out.
 Raw sewage is first passed through a series of screens to
remove large pieces of debris such as sticks, plastic etc
 Then the sewage is allowed to settle in a sedimentation tank
which further reduces the suspended solid wastes and
removes up to one-third of the BOD value.
2. Secondary treatment
 Is a biological process which uses mixed microbial
population to remove pollutant components from waste
water and reduces their concentration prior to disposal.

.

 The aerobic microbial treatment process can be divided

into trickling (percolating) filter and activated sludge
A. Trickling filter:-
 The wastewater is passed slowly over beds of stones or
pieces of moulded plastic that contains microbes (such as
fungi, bacteria, protozoans and algae) in the form of
biofilms.
 These microorganisms break down the waste organic
matters and reduces 80-85% of the BOD.
B. Activated sludge
 The wastewater that have been seeded with a mixed
microbial sludge is pumped into aerated treatment tank.
 These mixed microbial sludges are used to oxidize the
pollutant organic matter in the presence of oxygen
Con’t…
 One of the main component of the microbial sludge is
zoogloea bacterium.
 zoogloea bacterium secretes slime that forms flocs
(aggregate form) and other microorganism like protozoa
attach around it.
 Some of the organic content of wastewater is not oxidized
immediately rather it becomes part of the flocs.
 Then the sludge will be left to sediment in the treatment
plant
 The water must be treated with chlorine to remove any
pathogenic microbes before discharged into water bodies
 Bulking which is caused by filamentous bacteria (example
Sphaerotilus natans ) is the main problem in activated
sludge process.
..
 It causes the sludge not to settle properly and consequently
passes out with the treated water.
 The surplus sludge can be undergo anaerobic digestion to
produce CO2 and methane (used to power the plant)
 The remaining sludge that does not contain toxic heavy
metals can be used as composite
3. Tertiary wastewater treatment
 Secondary treatment of wastewaters is effective in removing
organic matter from the wastes but it does not remove the
inorganic by-products of the microbial activity.
 These inorganic products of organic degradation such as
ammonia and phosphate can be removed by both chemical
and microbiological tertiary treatment process
 So if these inorganic products are discharged into water, they
cause algal blooming because they are excellent nutrient for
Bioremediation
 Is the use of living organisms or their products for the
detoxification and degradation of environmental pollutants
 Or bioremediation is the use of living organisms such as
bacteria, fungi, algae or plants to remove or reduce toxic
pollutants from the environment.
 Saprophytic microbes are known by degrading pollutants
components.
 Genetically engineered bacteria is also used to clean up
pollutants from the environments by breaking down the toxic
pollutants into less toxic or harmless compounds.
 E.g. Mercury that damage nervous system converted into
nontoxic compound.
 Biotransformation is a process of using microbial enzymes to
modify a toxic pollutant by altering or transforming its
…
 The modified toxic pollutants can be degraded further or not
if they are less toxic (e.g toxic heavy metals degraded by
microbes into less toxic)
Some benefits of bioremediation
 It is natural and ecofriendly process
 It is cost effective
 It remove or immobilize some heavy metals like mercury, lead,
arsenic etc by bioaccumulation
 It improves the quality of soil, water, and air
 It transform a wide of organic pollutant like oil, solvent,
pesticide and explosive into harmless like H 2O and CO2.
 It can provide useful products such as biofuel, enzyme ..
 Bioremediation can also contributes to the sustainable
development goals of reducing poverty, ensuring clean H2O
Biofuels
 Biofuels are solid, liquid and gases fuels that have been
developed from plant materials.
 It is mainly used to describe ethanol fuel which is obtained
by the fermentation process of sugar rich plant materials.
 Ethanol can be produced from:
 Corn resides Ethanol is carbon neutral meaning the
 Sugar crops carbon emitted by burning ethanol is also
 Crop residues
similar with the carbon absorbed by plant.
 agricultural and industrial wastes
 A plant which is rich in sugar
 Crop residues are plant materials which consists of cellulose
and hemicellulose left in the field after harvest.
 These polysaccharides are a polymers of glucose, galactose,
.
 There is no microorganisms that ferment these five polymer
sugars naturally but genetically engineered Saccharomyces
cerevisiae can ferment xylose.
 E. coli strain that expresses Zymomonas mobilis genes is
another types of microbes that have an ability to ferment all
these five polymer sugars effectively.
 Though it is expensive and corrosive, it is possible to obtain
monomers of sugar from cellulose and hemicellulose by
heating the plant materials and treating it with acid in order to
produce ethanol.
 Today cellulase and hemicellulase producing fungi and
enzymes from thermoacidophiles are used to replace the
harsh thermochemical approach
 Biofuel is used to replace fossil fuels and it is ecofriendly
 Using biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emission
Biogas production
 Biogas is a flammable or combustible mixture of different
gases produced by breaking down of organic waste matters
anaerobically in fermenter.
 The main component of biogas is methane though it also
contains CO2, H2O, H2S and other gases
 The three main groups of anaerobic microbes involved in
biogas production are:
 Hydrolytic bacteria (e.g clostridium, Bacteroid & others)
are the 1st groups of Eubacteria’s that break down the
complex organic molecule like protein, carbohydrate and
fat into simpler organic acid, alcohol, hydrogen & CO2
Con’t….
 Fermentative bacteria (e.g Acetobacterium,
Butyribacterium) are the 2nd groups of Eubacteria’s that
ferment the product of the 1st stages such as organic acids
and alcohols to produce Acetate, propionic acid, butyric
acid, Carbon dioxide and Hydrogen
 Methanogenic (e.g Methanobacterium, Methanococcus …)
are the 3rd groups of archaea bacteria that produces methane
by one of the following two reactions.
1. Reduction of carbon dioxide to methane
CO2 + 4H2 CH4 + 2H2O
2. Splitting ethanoic acid to form methane and carbon
dioxide
CH3COOH CH4 + CO2
Con’t…
 The raw materials used to produce biogases are:
Sewage from human
Manure from animal
Farm and garden waste

Advantage of biogas
Biogas is a fuel used to cook food and light limps
Slurry left from biogas production forms a manure
Biogas is much cheaper than Liquefied Petroleum
Gas for home use
 Composite
 Is an aerobic microbial driven process that converts solid
organic wastes into a stable and humus that used to improve
soil
 The basic biological reaction of the compositing process is
the oxidation of the mixed organic substrates with oxygen
to produce CO2, H2O and other organic by-products
 The final product of composite can become the substrate
for the worldwide commercial production of the mushroom
Agaricus bisporus.
 Recently, it becomes a good waste management technology
 The primary aim of compositing operation is to obtain
desired quality product of compost in a limited time.
Application in industry
Enzymes
1. Enzymes can be made from readily available feed stocks
(e.g. corn-steep or molasses) by commercial fermentation.
 The two most common microorganisms used to produce
enzymes are:
1. Fungi (e.g. Aspergillus)
2. Bacteria (e.g. Bacillus)
 These microorganisms are selected because, they are non-
pathogenic and do not produce antibiotics.
 If the enzymes are extracellular then the liquid feedstock is
filtered from the organisms to extract the enzyme.
 If the enzymes are intracellular, the microorganism have to
..
They are crushed to extract the enzymes with water or other
solvents.
 Some commercial uses of enzymes are:
1. Proteases
 Used in washing powder to remove protein and
carbohydrate containing food particles like egg, milk and
blood
 Used to remove hair from animal hides
 Make yoghurt to be creamy and smooth
 Used to make meat more tender
2. Lipases
 Used in washing powder to remove stains that contain fatty
product
 Used to enhance flavors and faster cheese making
.

3. Pectinases
 Used to improve the process of fruit juice extraction
 Used for clarification of juices to maximize the production of
juice
4. Amylase
 Used to hydrolyze starch to sugars prior fermentation or used to
produce glucose from starch
 Amylases are used to enhance the softness and flexibility of
hide (in textile)
 Are effective on removing starchy food deposits (in detergent)

Biological washing powders

 The majority of commercial enzymes are proteases (protein-
digesting enzymes ) and lipases (fat-digesting enzymes)
.

 Protease and lipases combined in washing powder

became effective to remove stains in clothes caused by
proteins (e.g. blood, egg and gravy) and by fats (e.g.
grease)
 Biological washing powder saves energy because they
can be used to wash clothes at lower temperature and no
need to boil water
 If these enzymes are placed in water at higher temperature,
they became denatured and lose their effectiveness.
Application in agriculture
Biopesticides
 Biopesticides are defined as biological agents such as fungi
bacteria, viruses or their components which can be used to
kill a susceptible insects (bioinsecticides) or pests
.

1. Bacteria
 Both Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus popilliae are the
two major bacteria used as biopesticides because they are
harmless to human
A. Bacillus thuringiensis is used on vegetables, field crop,
fruits, shade tree and ornamentals
B. Bacillus popilliae is used primarily against Japanese beetle
larvae
C. Pseudomonas fluorescens that contains the toxin producing
gene from Bacillus thuringiensis is used on maize to
suppress black cutworms.
2. Virus
 The following three major virus groups that do not replicate
in warm-blooded animals are used.
.
 Nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV)
 Granulosis virus (GV)
 Cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV)
3. Fungi
Over 500 different fungi are associated with
insecticide.
The following four genera are used to kill insects
A. Beauveria bassiana is used for control of the
Colorado potato beetle
B. Metarhizium anisopliae is used for control of
froghopper in sugarcane plantation.
C. Both Verticillium lecanii and Entomophthora spp
used to control aphids in green house and field
environment.
The use of tumour-inducing (Ti) plasmid as a vector
 Agrobacterium tumenfaciens uses tumour-inducing plasmid
to introduce glyphosate resistance gene into soyabean
crops.
Steps to transfer glyphosate resistance gene
 First glyphosate resistance gene is inserted into the Ti plasmid
together with antibiotic resistance
 Then the Ti plasmid is re-inserted into an Agrobacterium
tumenfaciens
 Plant cells are exposed to this transgenic bacteria and cultured
on a plate containing antibiotics
 The plant cells that grow are those that have taken up the
plasmid where as the plant that lack the new genes are killed
by antibiotics
Insect-resistant crops
 Genetically modified plants are protected from damage by
insect pest.
1. Genetically modified Maize became resistance to the corn
borer (attack leaves and stalks as the whole).
2. Genetically engineered cotton became resistance to the boll
weevil
 The most detrimental effects of growing insect-resistance
crops on the environments are:
 The evolution of resistance by the insects
 Damaging erect on the other species of insects
 The transfer of the added gene to other plants species
 However, less pesticide is used that reduce the risk of spray
carrying to and erecting non-target species of insects in other
Pest resistant crops
 Pests are mainly insects that damage or destroy crop plants
 Pest resistance crops are genetically modified and they are
toxic to certain insects.
 Cotton, tobacco, corn and other crops have been engineered
to express genes encoding for insecticidal (endotoxin)
proteins from Bacillus thurigiensis (BT).
 A plant that contains a gene from BT produces toxin and
show high resistance to caterpillars and insect attack
Transgenic Animals
 Animals that have been modified to express recombinant
DNA technology are called transgenic animals.
 Several proteins are produced using genetically engineered
bacteria but some recombinant proteins require eukaryotic
..

 A desired genes that code for proteins are expressed

in animals such as sheep, goat, chicken and mice.
 E.g. Life saving human proteins are produced in the milk
of transgenic sheep and goat
 Mice have been used to express and study the effect of
recombinant genes and mutations.
Transgenic plants
 Plants can be genetically modified for producing desirable
traits such as:
 Disease and drought resistance
 Herbicide and pesticide resistance
 Better nutritional value and shelf life
 Plants are also used to produce pharmaceuticals.
…

 N.B. Genetically modified plants must be monitored by

the concern body and ensure they can be used for
human food
 They also ensure as they will not affect other plant and
animal because foreign genes can spread to other
species in the environment.
Herbicide resistance
 Glyphosate is one of the most effective herbicide that kill
any green plants including crop plants and weeds but they
become harmless as soon as they reach in soil.
 A gene that code for an enzyme that breakdown glyphosate
can be introduced into a plant cell culture to reduce the use
of herbicide chemicals.
Cloning
 Cloning is a method of producing identical copies of genes,
cells or organisms.
 Gene cloning is the process of making many copies of a
gene (in vivo and in vitro cloning).
 Clone is a group of genetically identical organisms
produced from one parent.
 They can be produced either by asexual reproduction or by
artificial (cloning techniques).
 Sometimes cloning is used to produce skin or other tissues
needed to treat a patient.
 The main advantage of cloning techniques is to make large
numbers of plants or animals that have exactly the same or
copies of a parent with desirable characteristics.
Animal cloning
 Animals can’t be cloned from small part of their bodies
 If animals embryo at early stage is divided into many
pieces, each pieces can develop into a separate animal.
 However, it is difficult to predict the pieces of embryo
that can be develop into animals with desirable traits.
 The first successful reproductive cloning of an adult with
known characteristics is Dolly sheep.
 The first cloned mammal with known characteristics was
Dolly (sheep).
 Dolly was produced by transferring a diploid nucleus to an
enucleated egg (egg without nucleus or cytoplasmic).
 The egg cell was stimulated to divide by electric current
…


When the dividing egg cell reached at blastocyst stage, the
embryo was implanted into a surrogate mother ewe i.e in
vivo cloning
 Dolly was born after seven months.

Summary
 Finn-Dorset ewe was nuclear donor whereas Scottish
Blackface was cytoplasmic donor and surrogate sheep
uterus donor.
Q1. Which sheep is the genetic mother of Dolly?
 Gene therapy is treating genetic disease by inserting normal
genes to replace defective ones.
 Gene therapy is designed to introduce genetic material into
cells to compensate for abnormal genes
Q2. what is in vivo and ex-vivo gene therapy mean?
Biological warfare (BW)
 Biological warfare and germ warfare is the use of biological
toxins (poison) or infectious agents that can be used to kill or
incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war by a
nation.
 Biological agents (or bio-weapons) are living organisms such as
bacteria, virus and fungi that reproduce or replicate within their
host to cause harm and injure.
 Bioterrorism is the intentional use of microbes or toxins as a
weapon to cause disease or death for thousands of people.
 It can even cause a long term threat to the population and they
could spread rapidly around the world too.
 Biological weapons disseminate diseases-causing organisms or
toxins to harm or kill humans, animals or plants
 They can be deadly and contagious.
 the international community banned the use of BW.