At a quick glance, a barn can appear as a dirty, unproductive environment. However, deep down at the microscopic level lies the potential for novel technology. The invisible microbes and bacteria that pollute the barn may one day provide vectors, enzymes or other significant tools used in biotechnology. Many aspects of farming and agriculture are potential targets for biotechnology, and by using such simple and abundant organisms like bacteria, revolutionary changes in science and biotechnology may occur.
Bacteria already play an important role in biotechnology.
Transformant DNA is often inserted into E. coli cells to cause DNA amplification. The transformation process can cause a change in the phenotype, such as a resistance to certain antibiotics. Non-transformed plants can then be selected against by placing the seeds of a transformed plant onto selective media. The seeds from the plants that grow can then be harvested and used to grow more transgenic plants. Restriction enzymes are essential tools used in biotechnology.