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.
They are often isolated from microorganisms such as E. coli and Bacillus globigii . Decaying waste in a barn is likely to be rich in such enzymes and the discovery of new restriction enzymes would help scientists find new restriction sites. If one could easily remove a single nucleotide or a codon and replace it with another, researchers could study the effect of point mutations and possibly find cures for genetic diseases in farm animals. One factor that plays an important role in the well being of farm animals is nutrition. A great deal of research is currently being done on many kinds of crops.