History of Biotechnology

Microscope

Sep 1, 1600

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek observes the first microorganisms through the microscope invention.

Pea Plants Inheritance

Sep 1, 1850

Grefor Mendel discovered the laws of inheritence that allow you to predict the outcome through pea plants.

Fermentation

Sep 1, 1857

Louis Pateur described the scientific basis for fermentation, wine making, and the brewing of beer, established the science of microbiology, and proposed the Germ Theory, claiming that microorganisms were responsible for infectious diseases.

DNA Inheritance

Sep 1, 1869

Johann Miescher discovered that DNA may be inheritable.

Genes and Chromosomes

Sep 1, 1910

Thomas Hunt Morgan found that genes were on chromosomes.

Genetic Material

Sep 1, 1928

Fred Griffith proved genetic material could be moved from one strain of bacteria to another.

Biotechnology Drugs

Sep 17, 1928

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin which allowed other biotechnology drugs be developed.

DNA ATCG

Sep 20, 1935

Chargaff showed how in DNA the number of adenine equal the number of thymine and the number of cytosine equal the number of guanine.

1=1

Sep 20, 1941

One gene produces one enzyme

Transferred DNA

Sep 20, 1944

DNA is hereditary material that is transferred.

Viruses Replicate

Sep 16, 1953

Proven that viruses replicate using DNA.

Double Helix DNA

Sep 17, 1953

Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins used X-rays to discover that DNA is a double helix

Structure of DNA

Sep 18, 1953

The structure of DNA is discovered.

Plasmid DNA

Sep 19, 1953

Hayes found circular pieces of DNA found in bacteria called plasmid DNA.

Gene Expression

Sep 20, 1961

Walter Gilbert studied messenger RNA and discovers the mechanism of gene expression.

Bacterial Restriction

Sep 20, 1962

Arber, Nathans, and Smith discovered bacterial restriction enzymes that cut DNA.

Codons

Sep 20, 1966

Khorana and Nirenberg discovered the 64 codons that code for the 20 amina acids making up proteins.

Purified Plasmids

Sep 20, 1967

DNA plasmids were isolated and purified by Vinograd.

E.Coli

Sep 20, 1970

Madel and Higa were responsible for the first transformation of the bacterium Escherichia coli.

Clones

Sep 20, 1972

Cloning experiments were conducted by Boyer and Cohen.

Genentech

Sep 20, 1973

Genetech, the world's first genetic engineering company, was founded.

Recombinant DNA

Sep 20, 1976

140 scientists met to draw up guidlines for work with recombinant DNA in microorganisms. Paul Berg was a key organizer.

Sequencing DNA

Sep 25, 1977

Sanger and Gilbert found a way to sequence DNA. Given an unknown piece of DNA, they were able to read the correct order bases of adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine.

Synthetic Insulin

Sep 20, 1978

Boyer inserted a synthetic insulin gene into E. coli.

Fingerprints

Sep 21, 1978

Botstein found that one could be identified by the pattern made of one's DNA through a digest by different enzymes. This DNA fingerprint was called a Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP).

Vitro Fertilization

Sep 22, 1978

Louise Joy Brown was born, the first human baby resulting from in vitro fertilization, in which sperm and egg are joined in a petri dish. The fertilized egg is later implanted in a womb.

Genetically Altered Life Forms

Sep 20, 1980

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that genetically altered life forms can be patented. This resulted in a huge startup of biotech companies.

Transgenic Animals

Sep 21, 1980

Ohio University scientists made the first transgenic animals.

Human Insulin Gene in Bacteria

Sep 20, 1982

Eli Lilly Company placed human insulin gene inside bacteria.

Transforming Plants

Sep 20, 1983

Schell Chilton, Van Montagu, Fraley, and Horsch tranformed plants with Agrobacterium- mediated gene transter.

PCR

Sep 25, 1983

Kary Mullis invented polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify DNA in the laboratory.

Used in Criminal Cases

Sep 20, 1985

Jeffries applied RFLP in DNA profiling to the study of criminal cases.

Automated Fluorescence Sequencer

Sep 20, 1985

An automated fluorescence sequencer was invented, speeding up the labor-intense process.

Gene Gun

Sep 25, 1985

Genes were moved into an organism through the use of a gene gun.

Safety Guidelines

Sep 20, 1994

NIH revised safety guidlines for recombinant DNA to include plants grownin greenhouses and animals raised in barns.

C. Elegans

Sep 20, 1996

Andrew Fire and Craig Mello discovered RNA interference, silencing of genes, in the worm C. elegans.

Antibody Technology

Sep 20, 1997

Kohler, Milstein and Jerne used monoclonal antibody (MAb) technology.

YAC

Sep 22, 1997

Maynard Olson and colleagues at Washington University invented "yeast artificial chromosomes," or YACs, which are expression vectors for large proteins.

Cloning

Sep 25, 1997

Ian Wilmut cloned Dolly the sheep from an adult cell of a ewe at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.

DNA Microarray

Sep 26, 1997

DNA microarray (DNA chip) technology, looking at the expression of all the genes of an organism at one time on a microscope slide or silicon chip, was developed.

Automated DNA Sequencer Invention

Sep 25, 1999

Dabiri and Garner invented an automated DNA sequencer that had a capability of sequencing 76,800 base pairs per hour, 5 to 30 times faster than existing sequencers. Technology like this greatly sped up the Human Genome Project.

Riboswitch

Sep 25, 2002

Ron Breaker coined the term riboswitch for part of an mRNA molecule that can regulate its own activity and therefore gene expression.

Human Genome Project

Sep 25, 2003

Announcement was made of the completion of the Human Genome Project by Francis Collins and Craig Venter. The project provided the ability to find genes and gave rise to the sequencing of other genomes.