By Ijaz Ahmad Rao
Life, science, research and industry are developing rapidly all over
the world. Microbial biotechnology is increasingly being regarded as a core
subject in most university and polytechnic life science courses.
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology being premier interdisciplinary
subjects have mingled through many basic and applied sciences and expertise
of all most all fields of science is needed today to understand so called
?Modern Biology?; with increasing knowledge regime in this field more and
more interdisciplinary vistas are opening up. Some of them are
Bionanotechnology, Bioinformatics so on.

It is an acknowledged major force for economic and social development
in all countries. Varying in application of concept, practice, scale, style
and substance, Biotechnology is amongst the latest globalizing frontiers and
enriched constantly by inputs from all of the life sciences- biotechnology
has wide applications. To industry, sustainable development means continuous
innovation, improvement and use of ?clean? technologies to make fundamental
changes in pollution levels and resource consumption. No single technology
can give economic access to a full range of new products. Although the last
century saw the replacement of plant-derived products with petroleum
derivatives but in this century we will have biodegradable, environmental
friendly, more nutrition and healthy products drive by the tools of
microbial biotechnology and genetic engineering.

The developments in life sciences are breath taking and far reaching ?
the genetical and biotechnological development gives us an opportunity to
understand, influence and take advantage of nature?s great variety; however,
this knowledge will be an important driving force behind societal and
industrial development in the foreseeable future; but the development,
however, also raises questions concerning how the increased knowledge should
be used globally, and without risk of misuse.

The Center for Molecular Genetics (CMG), University of Karachi (KU)
has taken initiative to hold International Symposium on Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology in which eminent scientists from the United States, the
United Kingdom, and the Islamic world have presented their papers and
emphasized dialog between industry and academia towards better understanding
of the most upcoming fields of modern technology. The symposium aims towards
discussion and showcasing recent research and upcoming trends both in basic
and Applied Biosciences in industry & academia and its possible healthy
impacts on environment and socio-economic development in an economy. It also
focused on how Industrial Biotechnology can be used to transform
manufacturing, chemical synthesis, and energy production, while at the same
time decreasing pollution; secondly how agricultural wastes can be used to
create new consumer goods. The conference also provided an overview of the
technological developments and new trends in Industrial Biotechnology and
examined the barriers that must be overcome to advance the concept of a
bio-based economy.

At the opening ceremony the founder and the director of CMG; Dr Nuzhat
Ahmed said that we in developing countries must condense the period of our
progress and catch up, not only with the IT industry, but also make a
beginning in the genetic and biotechnology industry. At the conference, KU
Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim said that our scientists should have
ample knowledge and understanding of our industry?s need and demand so that
they can help them by the use of genetic and biotechnology techniques; he
further stressed on the implementation of policies that maximize the
potential benefits while minimizing the risks of modern technologies.

Like other natural resources Pakistan has a wealth of indigenous
bacterial flora, which could be exploited for various purposes; several
indigenous bacterial strains were isolated from diverse environment such as
soil, water agriculture fields, fruits, vegetables and animals etc; these
strains were purified and characterized at different level and selected for
different uses in the field of health, environment, agriculture, renewable
energy and industry.

The contamination of the environment by herbicides, pesticides,
solvents, various industrial by-products including toxic metals, copper,
chromate, silver, arsenic and mercury are of enormous economic and
environmental significance. Economical development is dependent on
industrial production of goods under conditions where the price at which the
goods are sold is greater than the cost of production; the cost of
production includes not only the conversion of raw material into final
product but also the lifetime cost of remediation of human made chemicals
that may have escaped into the environment; which requires number of
practical methods to control.

Environmental biotechnology can help make process safer for
environment and save corporations money Our whole world seems to be wrapped
in plastic - is one of the chemical materials, which pose environmental and
health hazard problems. Almost every product we buy most of the food we eat
and many of the liquids we drink come encased in plastic. In Pakistan tones
of plastic materials are produced each year and is currently importing
around 225,000 million tons of polyethylene (PE) resin per annum worth Rs10
billion for local consumption; there are four to five thousand small and
medium sized industrial units using nearly 80 per cent of the imported PE
for the production of plastic bags; around 0.2 million people associated
with the plastic bag business.

Plastic bags are a notorious cloggier of sewage lines and drains;
because it doesn?t rot and turn into compost, plastic bags discarded in
fields decrease the productivity of arable land; harming fishery industry
and wildlife. As conventional plastic is resistant to biodegradation
therefore, persist in environment for long time; a team of scientists from
Centre for Molecular Genetics University of Karachi, developed biopolymers
Polyhydroxy alkanoates (PHA) which are synthesized by local marine bacteria
and possess material properties similar to conventional synthetic plastics -
upon disposal, they are completely degraded to water and carbon dioxide.
Pakistan?s eminent Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman has confirmed the chemical structure
of these environment friendly biodegradable plastics. Unfortunately, due to
lower production-volumes than petroleum-based; biodegradable bags are
significantly more expensive to produce, but the cheaper price of
traditional plastics does not reflect their true cost when their full impact
is considered.

Karachi the 18th century port-city is not only Pakistan?s largest but
also boasts of a harbor which is said to be among the best in Asia; but
unfortunately city?s waterways dump roughly 200 million gallons per day of
untreated industrial waste, including toxic effluents, and solid waste into
the Arabian Sea. Moreover in 2003 the Greek tanker Tasman Spirit spilled its
cargo of 60,000 tones of crude oil into the port. The impacts of such
activities have badly effected our marine life - two popular fish species
?palla? and ?dangri? has declined from about 700 tons in 1985 to 200 tons in
2005 while scientists have also reported hydrocarbon traces in fish.

Many countries have stopped importing fish products from Pakistan;
which is costing millions of dollars in losses. Untreated water from
Tanners, textile and other industries is the major killer of water
environment while causing many major disease like Cancer, Hepatitis, genetic
disorders skin problem so on. Researchers believe that oil-consuming
bacteria which is found in our sea water can be used to clean up oil spill -
method of spraying dispersants is simply a health hazard because in this way
all the oil will simply accumulate at the bottom of the sea for decades
causing destruction of marine life as well as creating health problems.
Bacteria have genes for toxic metal resistances, which can be used to clean
untreated water from industries.

Pakistani government and industrialists are very well aware of these
the hazards and how World Trade Organisation rules will effect our exports
if we will not consider social compliance and standard regarding
environmental issues. Prof. Dr. Philip Warner from UK said ? we are
developing a DNA based detection system in which environmental pollutant
will be detected by mean of their ability? which will help to monitor and
control pollution in a very effective way.

Water is literally a matter of life and death. The idea that water is
drinkable is not one that most of us think about; the only types of water we
distinguish are tap, spring, and mineral but the fact is that most of the
people on this planet do not have access to water that is fit to drink. Some
12 million people die each year from a lack of water including 3 million
children who die tragically from waterborne diseases.

Today some 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to clean water;
demand for water in our growing world is rising rapidly - world population
tripled in the last century the use of water grew six fold. Pakistan?s
current population of 150 million is expected to grow to about 225 million
by the year 2025. This increase in population will have direct impact on the
water sector for meeting the domestic, industrial and agricultural needs.
The per capita water availability has dropped from 5,600 m3 to 1,000 m3.

The quality of groundwater and surface-water is low and is further
deteriorating because of untreated municipal and industrial wastewater and
excessive use of fertilizers and insecticides. It is estimated that in
Pakistan around 30% and 40% of all reported diseases and deaths are
attributed to poor water quality; cause of deaths in infants and children up
to 10 years age as well as mortality rate of 136 per 1,000 lives while more
than 10,000 people die annually of renal infection due to the polluted
drinking water in Karachi. President Pervez Musharraf has reiterated the
government?s commitment to provide clean drinking water to the entire
country by 2007 and government has allocated billions of rupees for the
provision of safe drinking water. The quality of ground water is very
alarming in respect of various physical & aesthetic, chemicals, trace &
ultra trace elements including microbiological parameters.

In most part of Southern Punjab and Sindh Arsenic contamination in
ground water is common - It has no taste, smell or colour and is widely
distributed throughout the earth?s crust and commonly found in the
atmosphere, soils, rocks, organisms and in natural waters; it can be lethal
the amount of arsenic in drinking water is very small and any health effects
are the result of prolonged exposure over a period of years. This long-term
low-level exposure to arsenic has been linked to cancer of the skin,
bladder, and nervous system, along with possible circulatory problems.
According to Prof. Silver Simon from USA and Dr. Diels Ludo from Belgium
?Microbes often provide the basis for useful environmental and agriculture
biotechnology as well as frequently causing problems; however Bacteria have
genes for toxic metal ion resistances like Mercury and Arsenic; its up to
political will of our government how much research & investment we do in
this area to reduce water contamination.

Dr. Anwar Nasim advisor Science & Chairman National Commission for
Biotechnology and President Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA)
said that at present there are 28 institutes of Biotechnology in different
universities and research institutes, which is a clear indication of the
importance that our government attaches to this technology. At this critical
juncture of the growth of the biotechnology emphasis should be on the
industrial applications of Biotechnology, which will play a vital role in
the economic uplift of our country. There is no doubt that Biotechnology is
indeed the industry of the future.

Being an agriculture based country, it is not surprising that the food
industry in Pakistan employs over 20 per cent of the country?s working
population, the food industry has been categorize as a major sector of food,
dairy, beverages and Tobacco. In the food processing industry, a substantial
amount of energy is consumed; excessive use of energy is usually associated
with many industrial plants worldwide and food-processing plants are no
exception. Enormous potential exists for cost effective improvement in
existing energy-using equipment. Therefore, it is imperative to introduce
and disseminate information about modern energy saving technologies.

Traditionally, pasteurisation or heat processing is used to reduce the
level of bacteria, spores, and other agents that cause spoilage of fruit
juices, beer, milk, and other liquid foods. Heat processing, however, also
reduces the flavour of these foods; our food industry has failed to expand
in many developing countries due to its continued use of improper heating
technology, chemical preservatives that many international markets are
unwilling to accept. Prof. Michael Gealt from USA has emphasized on the
application of Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing in food industry - In
PEF processing, an electric field, rather than heat, chemicals, or
irradiation, is used to kill micro organisms, spores, etc.

Kill rates comparable to pasteurisation have been demonstrated by
multiple researchers across a wide range of liquid foods, including juices,
milk, liquid eggs, and sauces. PEF utilizes less than 10% of the delivered
energy required for pasteurisation so the temperature rise during PEF is
only a few degrees Celsius for equivalent bacterial kill versus 80 ? 100 C?
for pasteurisation. Because PEF only applies a voltage gradient to the
treated liquid, without arcing, there are essentially no chemical effects.
In taste tests conducted on PEF treated juices, they are essentially
indistinguishable from fresh untreated juices. PEF involves the use of high
voltage (20-40 kV/cm) electric field pulses to produce holes in the cell
membranes of microbes that causes their death. This bursting of the cell
wall has three main effects. It kills living cells, such as bacteria, making
it an alternative to pasteurisation for liquid foods, such as fruit juices
and milk. It releases the contents of the burst cell to the surrounding
liquid, which can aid in the extraction of sugars and starches from plant
cells, such as sugar beets. The burst cells are much more susceptible to
other biological and chemical processes, such as anaerobic digestion, which
can significantly reduce the solid content sludge in wastewater treatment
facilities.

Food Science microbiologists are investigating the potential benefit
of using this technology to increase the shelf life of fresh milk. This
technology could assist milk manufacturers to deliver fresh-tasting milk to
distant markets that are not within reach using current milk processing
technologies. PEF processing is currently being demonstrated for all of
these applications and is beginning to emerge as a viable commercial
process.

Plants biotechnology has brought the scientific world significantly
closer to solving some of the challenges in agriculture. North America is
producing more than three billion dollars worth of agriculture biotech
products and experts believe that the industry will grow 45 % each decade.
Developing countries have position themselves in niches with distinct
competitive advantages? so it is important to understand and analysis the
potential and the challenges faced by developing countries in the
development of the biotechnology industry for sustainable economic growth.

Insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis ?Bt? have been used in
pest management programme for protecting crop plants against insect
predation. About 140 different Bt proteins have been discovered from various
ecological niches of the world. Genes encoding for some of these proteins
have been expressed in cotton, maize, soybean, canola and rice.

Widespread cultivation of these transgenic crops has resulted in
economic benefits to the farmer and reduced chemical pesticide load on the
environment. One of the reasons for the success of these transgenic crops is
the specificity of these proteins towards the target pests, weeds and so far
their lack of activity towards human.

Two institutes of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC),
National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (Nibge),
Faisalabad and Centre of Excellence for Micro Biology (Cemb), Lahore are
working on this project. However, these Bt cottonseeds, Bt Maize seeds or
other biotech seeds varieties have to get final approval for commercial
cultivation from ministry of environment. More recently The Food and
Agriculture Ministry (Minfal) has approved a five project to carry out
thorough studies for application of modern biotechnology and genetic
engineering techniques to increase crop and livestock productivity - Rs 483
million has been allocated for this purposes; it would help molecular
genetics, agricultural and veterinary sciences, and development of novel
drugs, recombinant vaccines, diagnostics, crop linkage maps, removal of
harmful pollutants from the environment and seafood production.

One of the major goals of 21st century society will be to switch from
petrochemicals to renewable and sustainable resources. As Biotechnology
become mainstay in industry - developing countries will be confronted with
both opportunities and challenges both at the policy and technology level.
New biotechnology makes it possible to use hitherto untapped biomaterials in
industry and to find out new uses of conventional biomaterials in food,
health care and industrial applications. Biotechnology holds the promise of
developing an economy Pakistan must take advantages of it before we miss the
boat.


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