University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

Includes subject & author index

Introduction to biotechnology -- Recombinant DNA technology 1. Preparation of DNA inserts -- Recombinant DNA technology 2.Vectors and gene cloning -- Animal tissue culture and hybridoma technology -- Animal biotechnology -- Transgenic animals -- Plant tissue culture -- Plant biotechnology -- Transgenic plants -- Biotechnology and health care -- General and industial microbiology -- enzyme technology -- Foods and beverages -- Fuel biotechnology -- Environmental biotechnology -- Genomics and bioinformatics -- Biosafety -- Intellectual property rights -- Author index -- Subject index.

The term ' biotechnology' is derived from a fusion of 'biology' and technology'. True to its name, it concerns with the exploitation of biological agents or their components for generating useful products/services. By its nature, the area covered under biotechnology is very vast and the techniques involved are highly divergent; this has often made a precise definition of the subject rather difficult. A relatively simple and comprehensive definition due to "B" ulock (1987) is as follows: Biotechnology comprises the "controlled and deliberate application of simple biological agents - living or dead cells or cell components-in technically useful operations, either of productive manufacture or as service operation".