A special branch of science which applies biotechnology to study the natural environment, identifying optimum, but sustainable uses of plants, animals and microorganisms to develop green technology, and remediation of contaminated environments is known as Environmental Biotechnology.
Some of the Achievements obtained in environmental biotechnology are as follows:
Many eco-toxicological biomarkers are being used to indicate the effect of xenobiotics which are present in the environment as well as within an organism. Bio-markers are defined as any naturally occurring molecule which may indicate specific biological processes in response to any environmental or chemical stimuli. Many eco-toxicological biomarkers are developed which may prove helpful in indicating subtle changes in the immediate environment, which may otherwise be difficult to detect. For example, a reported gene, lux (which is responsible for emission of light), expressed in E. coli, acts as a bio sensor for detecting the mercury contamination.
Biotechnological applications may also be helpful in the process of cleaning up the hazardous substances in the environment by converting them into nontoxic or less toxic compounds. This is known as bioremediation. This process of clean-up exploits the potential of natural sources for bioremediation. Genetic engineering has been exploited to generate organisms specifically designed for bioremediation. Genes, which code for enzymes for degradation of pollutants or monitor their levels may be inserted into the organisms.
An example of a degradation gene is biphenyl dioxygenase, which has been inserted in E.coli to degrade PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl).
Cultivable land area is often contaminated with heavy metals such as Cadmium, Mercury and Lead, which may prove detrimental for growth of crop plants and may even prove as a health hazard upon consumption. Many hyper-accumulator plants when grown on these contaminated soils, have the potential to soak up the heavy metals from the soil and sequester it in their cellular compartments, thereby phyto-remediating the soil.
Examples of some hyper-accumulators are, Brassica napus, Helianthus annus, etc., for mercury and lead removal from contaminated soils. Extensive research is being carried out in identifying the genes responsible for tolerance of these plants to such hazardous heavy metals.
The application of environmental biotechnology will help to keep our environment safe and clean for future generations. It can provide alternative ways of adaptation to the changes in the environment. Multidisciplinary association between branches of science such as genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, sequencing and imaging processes provide large amounts of information and novel ways to protect the environment.