Biotechnology

Insulin was the first hormone prepared by genetic engineering within the E. coli bacterium. Insulin is made up of two and chains of amino acid residues. Two different E. coli bacterial cultures were used to produce each of the insulin chain, these were then recovered from the bacteria and separated by galactosidase and finally, chemically joined to make human insulin.

Bt cotton is produced by the insertion of insect resistance genes from bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to cotton plant. This gene produces an insect resistant protein toxin crystals, called parasporal body, that can act as a microbial insecticide for specific insect groups.