About Book

Humans have altered the genomes of species for thousands of years through selective breeding, or artificial selection as contrasted with natural selection. Genetic engineering is the alteration of genome using biotechnology. It is a compilation of technologies used to modify the genetic makeup of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across species boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. Genetic engineering is an important tool for natural scientists, with the creation of transgenic organisms one of the most important tools for analysis of gene function. Genetic engineering has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture. In research GMOs are used to study gene function and expression through loss of function, gain of function, tracking and expression experiments. There has been rapid progress in this field and its applications are finding their way across multiple industries. This book elucidates new techniques and their applications in a multidisciplinary approach keeping the focus on genetic engineering. Also included in this book is a detailed explanation of the various concepts and applications of this discipline in different fields like medicine, manufacturing, gene therapy, etc. It deals with plant genetic engineering, multigene construction, thermostabilization, phenylpropanoid pathway, genetic engineering in a computer science, genetic control, acremonium chrysogenum, baculoviruses, biocontrol agent and genetic algorithms. The various studies that are constantly contributing towards advancing technologies and evolution of this field are examined in detail. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge for students and experts alike..

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Application of Radiation and Genetic Engineering Techniques to Improve Biocontrol Agent Performance: A Short Review................1

Abstract...................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................2

2. Genetic improvement of microorganisms........................................2

3. Conclusion..............................................................................................9

Acknowledgements.............................................................................10

Chapter 2 Genetic Engineering of Baculoviruses ...............................................14

1. Introduction..........................................................................................14

2. Baculovirus expression vectors........................................................18

3. Baculoviruses as bioinsecticides.......................................................28

4. Mammalian cells transduction and BacMam systems.................32

5. Baculovirus display strategies..........................................................37

6. Conclusions and perspectives...........................................................40

Chapter 3 Genetic Engineering of Acremonium chrysogenum, the Cephalosporin C Producer..................................................................................................53

1. Introduction..........................................................................................53

2. Biosynthesis of CPC...........................................................................54

3. Techniques for molecular breeding.................................................56

4. Molecular breeding of Acremonium chrysogenum.....................57

5. Industrialization research on molecular breeding of

A. chrysogenum..................................................................................59

6. Perspectives..........................................................................................61

Chapter 4 Neural and Genetic Control Approaches in Process

Engineering.................................................................................................67

1. Introduction..........................................................................................67

2. Neural networks and genetic algorithms for control..................69

3. Application to a pilot distillation column.....................................75

4. Conclusions..........................................................................................84

Chapter 5 Genetic Engineering in a Computer Science Curriculum ...........88

1. Introduction..........................................................................................88

2. Genetic engineering before Genetic Engineering ........................90

3. Leveling the terminology: Metaphors for understanding

genetics ................................................................................................92

4. Genetic files, disks, and genetic file systems ...............................93

5. Education of computer science students in genetic

engineering ..........................................................................................95

6. Implementation..................................................................................106

7. Conclusion .........................................................................................106

8. Acknowledgment .............................................................................107

Chapter 6 The Search for Parameters and Solutions: Applying Genetic

Algorithms on Astronomy and Engineering....................................112

1. Introduction ......................................................................................112

2. Characterization of NP-Complete problems ..............................113

3. Applications on astrophysics ........................................................114

4. Applications on Rocket Engine engineering...............................124

5. Applications on energy distribution.............................................136

6. Acknowledgments.............................................................................142

Chapter 7 Genetic Engineering of Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Leucaena

leucocephala ............................................................................................145

1. Introduction........................................................................................145

2. Lignin: Occurrence, structure and function ...............................146

3. Lignin as barrier for paper production .......................................155

4. Genetic engineering of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic

pathway .............................................................................................156

5. Conclusions........................................................................................166

6. Acknowledgements .........................................................................167

Chapter 8 Thermostabilization of Firefly Luciferases Using Genetic

Engineering...............................................................................................181

1. Introduction........................................................................................181

2. Overview of bioluminescent system of fireflies..........................183

3. Stability of firefly luciferases in solution.....................................188

4. Thermostabilization of firefly luciferases by random and

site-directed mutagenesis.................................................................190

5. Rational protein design approach to produce the stable and

active enzyme....................................................................................192

6. Site-directed mutagenesis of cysteine residues of

Luciola mingrelica firefly luciferase..............................................196

7. Increase of P. pyralis luciferase thermostability by

introduction of disulfide bridges...................................................204

8. Thermostabilization of the Luciola mingrelica firefly luciferase

by in vivo directed evolution.........................................................205

9. Acknowledgements...........................................................................212

Chapter 9 Gateway Vectors for Plant Genetic Engineering: Overview

of Plant Vectors, Application for Bimolecular Fluorescence

Complementation (BiFC) and Multigene Construction ...............223

1. Introduction........................................................................................223

2. Basic Ti-binary vector for Agrobacterium-mediated

transformation and Gateway cloning...........................................224

3. Binary vectors compatible with Gateway cloning......................229

4. Development of Gateway binary vector (pGWB) series...........230

5. Application of the pGWB system..................................................237

6. Conclusions........................................................................................246

Citation......................................................................................................255

Index...........................................................................................................257

About Author

Paxton Falcon pursued his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Public University of Science & Technology, Cork. He has conducted works on genetically modified organisms. He is a Guest Lecturer at Open Research University, Heidelberg. Falcon has been awarded the "Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award" for his excellence in guiding students. He has written several articles and journals related to biochemistry and biotechnology. He is an active member of several scientific and technical societies, where he continues to share his expertise and knowledge in the field of genetics.