Non-Gene Biotechnology

Biotechnology has two separate disciplines, viz, Non-gene biotechnology (dealing with use of whole or intact cell or tissue or organ of an individual) and Gene biotechnology (dealing with use of genetic engineering for gene manipulation, gene cloning, recombinant DNA technology, artificial gene synthesis and construction of genome library, etc.)
In Non- Gene technology, tissue culture, organ culture, cell culture, protoplast culture, somatic hybridization, micro- propagation, somaclonal variations, microbial fermentations and use of microbes in medical sciences, agricultural and industries use of microbes in medical sciences, agriculture and industries use of microbes as biofertilizers, biopesticides or in production of biogas, etc., are studied. They also helps in developing and improving  varieties of crops and in production of drugs using better microbial strains or their mutants.

Biotechnology is a recently developed  technology  concerned  with application  of living cells or tissues or their components for the benefits of mankind  and thus it is a package  term- for Biological technology (-a technology based on application of living organisms). It is a multidisciplinary approach  using knowledge of microbiology, tissue, culture, genetic engineering and chemical  engineering. It is a most vibrant discipline of modern molecular genetics.
The science of biotechnology is only 2-3 decades old but its contribution in medical sciences, agriculture, environmental protection and pollution abatement are noteworthy. It has helped in  in vitro synthesis of human insulin, interferon vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, antibiotics of latest generation and purification of drugs for cure of human diseases. It has produced high yielding plants, genetically modified or transgenic plants (plants carrying suitable foreign genes) and disease resistant plants for various agricultural operations. Genetically modified plants have shown their capacity of nitrogen fixation (when nif- genes were inserted), insect repelling capacity (when bt- genes were introduced in cottons) and vitamin synthesizing ability (when vitamin A gene was inserted in paddy). Superbag has been created using plasmids of many varieties of Pseudomonas putida to deal with oil solution problem in ocean due to leakage in oil tankers.