The Evolution of Biotechnology

Abstract

be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. CONTENTS Prefacevii Red Queen hypothesis prevails and one is writing as fast as one can in a frantic effort to barely keep pace with developments. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who took personal time to help us attain most of our goals and retain some level of sanity during the protracted process; Gussie Curran for a keen eye and wit in suggesting editorial modifications; Cathy Miller for diligence and persistence in wading through the maize of bureaucratic clearances; Mila and Tomás for putting up with frayed nerves and inattention; and David, Alan and Colin for being unfailing long distance sources of distraction and amusement.

Development of a transcriptional regulator-based bioreporter : towards a generic selection method for novel enzymes

“…However, the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms of these processes was comparatively recent. It started in 1830, when Gerardus Johannes Mulder first mentioned the name proteins 4 . Only a few years later, two major discoveries were made.…”

“…The second half of the 19 th century was characterized by the step by step unravelling of what enzymes are and how they function, as well as by the first industrial enzyme production. In 1869, Friedrich Miescher used highly impure pepsin, extracted from pig stomach, in his discovery of DNA 4,5 . Five years later, Christian Hansen marketed the first industrially produced enzymes, crude rennet 6 .…”

“…In 1876, Wilhelm Friedrich Kühne discovered trypsin, a substance in pancreatic juice that degraded other biological substances. One year later, he was the first person to call biological catalysts 'enzymes', meaning 'in yeast', to distinguish enzymes from the micro-organisms that produce them 1,4 . A crucial step in unravelling the mechanism of enzyme function was made by Emil Fischer in 1894.…”

“…In the 20 th century, enzyme research accelerated and increasingly more enzymes were discovered. In 1909, Wilhelm Johannsen introduced the term 'gene' for the carrier of heredity and Sir Archibald Garrod described enzyme deficiencies as cause of certain human diseases 4 . In 1913, Leonor Michaelis and Maud Menten showed that the enzyme-catalysed leading to the well-known Michealis-Menten equation 8 .…”

“…In the second half of the 20 th century, increasingly more enzymes were industrially applied. In 1959, the first commercial protease in detergents was used 4 and by 1960 a lot of enzymes were used in the food industry for starch hydrolysis 2 . A very important development for the industrial application of enzymes was the introduction of recombinant DNA technology by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1973.…”