Difference between Traditional Biotechnology and Modern Biotechnology (With Table)

As man evolves there are various changes that are being made in Biology and technology. Biology involves animals and plants. This has led to the coining of the term biotechnology.

Biotechnology is the use of living organisms and systems to manufacture useful products or perform industrial tasks.

There is a difference between traditional biotechnology and modern biotechnology. Modern biotechnology developed from the traditional one.

So, what is the main difference between traditional biotechnology and modern biotechnology? Traditional biotechnology involves the use of natural organisms to create or modify food or other useful products for human use while modern biotechnology involves the manipulation of genes and living tissues in a controlled environment to generate new tissues.

For information about the difference between traditional biotechnology and modern biotechnology in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

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Comparison Table (Traditional Biotechnology vs. Modern Biotechnology)

Basic Terms Traditional Biotechnology Modern Biotechnology
Definition It involves the use of natural organisms to create or modify food or other products useful for humans. It involves the manipulation of genes and living tissues in a controlled environment to generate new tissues.
Discovery It was by chance that humans discovered the natural process that is useful to humans. Scientists discovered the structure of DNA and transferred genetic knowledge from one person to another.
What it involves It uses natural organisms to produce new foods or improve existing ones for human consumption. Genes and live tissues are manipulated in lab testing.
Examples Tissue culture mutagenesis. Includes; DNA profiling, genome analysis, transgenesis, and DNA cloning.
Uses Foods such as cheese, yogurt, and enzymes used in washing powder are also made. Used in various industries such as food, agriculture, forestry, ecology, minerals, and industrial activities.
Time It takes a long time. It takes a shorter time.
Energy consumption Higher energy consumption. Less energy consumption.
Cost It is comparatively cheaper. It is expensive.
Product They are limited to phenotypes only. The products have known genetic information.

What is Traditional Biotechnology?

Traditional biotechnology is where natural organisms are used to create or modify food or other products useful for mankind.

The process has been there but people did not recognize that it was traditional biotechnology. The use of microorganisms has been involved in the process to make things such as cheese, yogurt, curd, cider, and wine.

Yeast, molds and lactic acid has been used to preserve milk, fruits, and vegetables.  The products have been used to improve human lives.

People have made use of natural processes for years. The only thing they did not have was a scientific explanation for the processes.

Organic fermentation may be used to create bread from wheat flour, wine from grape juice, cheese from milk stored in camel belly bags.

It also involves different disease eradication tactics. Traditional technology is the better as it is easier and requires fewer resources to get the results.

What is Modern Biotechnology?

Modern biotechnology involves the manipulation of genes and living tissues in a controlled environment to generate new tissues.

It refers to the application of newly gained abilities in microbiological and biochemical technology to applied biology.

It involves the utilization of live cells or their derivatives to industrial processes. Fermentation technology is used for the manufacture of wine and liquors.

It is allowed for regulated and faster production of desired alterations in an organism by direct manipulation of its genes.

Soil, water, and air can be cleaned up using organisms or organisms components. The modern field of biotechnology is built on recombinant DNA technology.

Difference between Traditional Biotechnology and Modern Biotechnology

  1. Traditional biotechnology refers to the use of natural organisms to create or modify existing foods useful for humans while modern biotechnology refers to the manipulation of genes and tissues in a controlled environment to create new tissues.
  2. Traditional biotechnology was discovered by chance while modern biotechnology was discovered by a scientist who discovered the structure of DNA and transferred the knowledge.
  3. Traditional biotechnology involves natural organisms to produce new foods while modern biotechnology involves genes and living tissues manipulated in lab testing.
  4. Traditional biotechnology produces products limited to phenotypes while modern biotechnology produces products with known genotypes.
  5. Traditional biotechnology is comparatively cheaper while modern biotechnology is expensive.
  6. Traditional biotechnology is time-consuming while modern biotechnology is fast.
  7. Traditional biotechnology consumes a lot of energy while modern biotechnology consumes less energy.

Similarities between Traditional Biotechnology and Modern Biotechnology

  1. Both traditional and modern biotechnology uses microorganisms.
  2. They both give rise to useful products for human beings.

Conclusion

Traditional and modern biotechnologies are important in human being’s life. They both use microorganisms to create new products that are useful to human beings.

However, they are different from each other. The main difference between traditional and modern biotechnology is that traditional biotechnology involves the use of natural organisms to create new foods or improve the existing ones to make them useful to humans while modern biotechnology involves the use of genes and living tissues in a controlled environment to create new products.

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