Biotechnology

Textbook for Class XII

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 1 1/9/2025 4:30:12 PM

 12150 – Biotechnology ISBN 978-93-5292-402-8
Textbook for Class XII

First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
February 2023 Magha 1944 system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior
permission of the publisher.

PD 5T BS  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of
trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of without the
publisher’s consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in
which it is published.
© National Council of Educational  The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this page,
Research and Training, 2023 Any revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or by a sticker or by any
other means is incorrect and should be unacceptable.

OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION

DIVISION, NCERT

NCERT Campus
Sri Aurobindo Marg
New Delhi 110 016 Phone : 011-26562708

108, 100 Feet Road

Hosdakere Halli Extension
Banashankari III Stage
Bengaluru 560 085 Phone : 080-26725740

Navjivan Trust Building

P.O.Navjivan
Ahmedabad 380 014 Phone : 079-27541446

CWC Campus
435.00 Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop
Panihati
Kolkata 700 114 Phone : 033-25530454

CWC Complex
Maligaon
Guwahati 781 021 Phone : 0361-2674869

Publication Team

Head, Publication : Anup Kumar Rajput

Division
Chief Production : Arun Chitkara
Officer

Chief Business : Vipin Dewan

Manager
Printed on 80 GSM paper with NCERT
watermark Chief Editor : Bijnan Sutar
(In charge)
Published at the Publication Division Production Assistant : Sunil Kumar
by the Secretary, National Council of
Educational Research and Training,
Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 Cover and Layout
016 and printed at Chandra Prabhu
DTP Cell, DESM
Offset Printing Works (P.) Ltd., C-40,
Sector-8, Noida - 201 301 (U.P.)

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 2 1/9/2025 4:30:12 PM

 Foreword
NCERT prepares quality curricular material for its stakeholders at all levels of school
education. Biotechnology is a new addition in the series of textbooks for students at the
higher secondary stage. It is always considered important that a smooth transition of
students occur from the secondary stage to the higher secondary stage. At the secondary
stage, children pursue science as an integrated subject, whereas specific subject
disciplines are offered at the higher secondary stage.
Biotechnology being an applied subject, involves the understanding of fundamentals of
the components of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Keeping this in mind, basic principles
of organisms, cell and molecules have been discussed in the textbook of Biotechnology at
initial level in Class XI. Thus, the learner can appreciate the basic aspects and principles
with a focus on its applications. The applied aspects are dealt with in Class XII, where
children have been given good exposure to understand as to how the basic cellular and
molecular processes can be used for diverse applications for the welfare of society in
general.
Such applications touch almost all aspects of human activities, like agriculture,
health, food and nutrition, industry, and environment conservation. Keeping in view the
cognitive domain of higher secondary students, attempts have been made to keep various
aspects of applications of biotechnology in such a way that a smooth transition occurs
from higher secondary to higher and technical level. As per the recommendations of
the National Education Policy-2020, attempts have also been made to develop critical
thinking analysing societal needs.
Being an applied subject, it is extremely crucial that children must develop skills to
cope up with technological content of the subject. I do hope that the textbook would be up
to the expectations of the stakeholders. Biotechnological researches have a great potential
for exploring and establishing various enterprises with the industrial and commercial
applications, therefore, an appropriate understanding of entrepreneurial skills among
children pursuing the course is relevant. A chapter has been dedicated to this aspect as
well. It is expected that this course of Biotechnology would be a perfect bridge between
the secondary stage science and similar disciplines at higher and professional level.
I am confident that the development team has taken due care while preparing the
manuscript about correctness, accuracy and appropriateness of the content. However,
NCERT believes in the continuous improvement of our curricular materials, therefore,
feedback and suggestions provided by different stakeholders would be of great help for
further improving its quality and utility.

New Delhi Director

September 2022 National Council of Educational
Research and Training

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 3 1/9/2025 4:30:12 PM

 iv

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 4 1/9/2025 4:30:12 PM

 Preface
Biotechnology, by definition, is an applied science and its applications are widespread.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the role of biotechnology is increasing day by
day. In the field of agriculture, biotechnological applications have helped in improving
many crop varieties from the perspective of increased productivity, pest resistance,
drought and salinity tolerance. Production of human growth hormone and insulin,
diagnosis of various diseases whether genetic or infectious and development of a
number of vaccines including the one against COVID-19 have become possible
only because of the advancements in the area of biotechnology. Even in the field of
environment protection and conservation, biotechnological tools have tremendously
contributed through bioremediation of toxic substance on one hand to detection of
toxic substance through biosensor and elimination of toxic substances from soil on
the other. Last but not the least, advancements in the area of bioinformatics provide a
tool which has predictive potentialities from the point of view of prediction of disease
a person is likely to suffer in future and drug discovery. It is worth mentioning that
new researches are pouring in at a very fast speed and therefore, the understanding
of the subject has to be fundamental and critical to address future challenges.
In Class XI, students of biotechnology have already been exposed to the
basic understanding of biomolecules, cell organisation with cellular processes,
fundamentals of genetic and molecular principles, and various tools and techniques
employed in the biotechnological study. Course content of the subject for Class XII
largely dwells around the application of molecular and cellular principles besides
employing different microbes for various beneficial usage. Also, appropriate emphasis
has been given on the aspect of recent innovations and development happening in the
area. Another important feature of the book is the component on entrepreneurship
which would develop an appropriate understanding as to how a biotechnology-based
enterprise can be established.
Attempt has been made to keep a continuity of the content of biotechnology for
Class XII with that of the fundamentals studied in earlier class. There are five units
in the book divided into thirteen chapters. Unit I with four chapters deals with the
details of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology and gene cloning in which the role of
host and vector for transfer of gene or a segment of DNA for various applications have
been detailed first. In Chapter 4, a few of the common and important applications
of rDNA technology have been described. Unit II focusses on the aspect of genome
engineering in which various advancements of DNA sequencing technology, genome
editing, comparative genomics and protein engineering have been described. Unit
III has five chapters in which the fundamentals and application of various culture
techniques, be it culture of microbes, plant and animal tissues or stem cells have
been prescribed. The usage of microbial and cell culture in most of the cases lead to
the bioprocessing of various products. Accordingly, Chapter 10 of the Unit III deals

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 5 1/9/2025 4:30:12 PM

 with this applied technology of bioprocessing and biomanufacturing. Unit IV with
one chapter emphasises on the applied aspect of microorganisms and technology for
the treatment of wastewater and sewage besides bioremediation of toxic substances
especially pesticides. Unit V has two chapters, one on recent innovations in the field
of Biotechnology and the other on various aspects about entrepreneurship skill and
its development.
It is expected that the entire course of Biotechnology would be helpful for students
in developing a critical understanding of the subject, its application, future prospects
besides developing entrepreneurial skills.
I express my deep sense of gratitude and appreciation to U. N. Dwivedi, Former
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Former Vice Chancellor of University of
Lucknow, for providing leadership in this endeavour of NCERT. This task would not
have been accomplished without the contribution of the entire development team and
their efforts are highly appreciated.
The department welcomes the comments as well as suggestions for bringing out
further improvement in the textbook.

Dinesh Kumar
Professor and Member Co-ordinator
Department of Education in Science and
Mathematics

vi

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 6 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Textbook Development
Committee
Chairperson
U. N. Dwivedi, Former Professor and Former Vice Chancellor, Department of
Biochemistry, University of Lucknow, Lucknow

Members
Akash Ranjan, Scientist, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics [CDFD],
Hyderabad
Amit Dinda, Professor, Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, Delhi
Animesh Kumar Mohapatra, Professor, Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneswar
Anita K. Verma, Professor, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi
Chochong Vareichung Shimray, Associate Professor, Department of Education in
Science and Mathematics, NCERT
G.B.N. Chainy, Professor, Department of Zoology and Biotechnology, Utkal University,
Utkal
Indrakant K. Singh, Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Deshbandhu College,
University of Delhi, Delhi
Kusum Yadav, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of
Lucknow, Lucknow
Manoj K. Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, Delhi
Poonam Sharma, Associate Professor, Gargi College, University of Delhi, Delhi
Pushp Lata Verma, Associate Professor, Department of Education in Science and
Mathematics, NCERT
Sarmistha Sarma, Professor, Institute of Innovation in Technology and Management,
Delhi
Sunita Farkya, Professor, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics,
NCERT
Veda Prakash Pandey, CSIR Pool Scientist, Department of Biochemistry, University of
Lucknow, Lucknow

Member Co- ordinator

Dinesh Kumar, Professor, Department of Education in Science and Mathematics,
Head, PMD and Dean (Research) NCERT

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 7 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 viii

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 8 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Acknowledgements
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) gratefully
acknowledges the contribution of the individuals and organisations involved in the
development of Biotechnology textbook for Class XII. The Council is grateful to Binay
Panda, Professor, School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi;
Pawan K. Dhar, Professor, School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
Delhi; Mohammad Mahfuzul Haque, Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia
Millia lslamia, Delhi; Vinod Kumar Srivastava, Former Associate Professor, Indira
Gandhi Government College, Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh, for their contribution in the
review of the manuscript.
The NCERT is highly thankful to Shweta Singh, Joint Director, Central Board
of Secondary Education, Delhi; Anjulika Joshi, PGT, Mount Carmel School, Anand
Niketan, Delhi; Sushil Kumar Dwivedi, PGT, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Aliganj, Lucknow;
Payal Priyadarshini, PGT, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi Cantt-3, Delhi; Pratibha Sharma,
PGT, Kendriya Vidyalaya, JNU, Delhi and Ambika Nagrath, PGT, Army Public School,
Dhaula Kuan, Delhi; Upasna Chopra, PGT, Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, Delhi;
Dinesh Kumar Jamwal, HOD, Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodhi road, Delhi; Ankit,
PGT, Ahlcon International School, Mayur Vihar Phase 1, Delhi; Neva, PGT, Delhi
Public School, R.K. Puram, Delhi; for their valuable suggestions.
The NCERT is also thankful to Bharat Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Banwarilal of The
Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), for providing relevant information that was
required for finalising a few chapters.
The Council also acknowledges the academic contributions of Ritika Gupta and
Preeti Sharma, Junior Project Fellows, in finalising the manuscript. Contributions of
Shilpi Singh, Lab Assistant; Suman Prajapati and Pooja Sharma, Graphic Designers
and Rekha Sharma, DTP Operator for typesetting are also acknowledged. Without
their effort, it would not have been possible to bring out the manuscript. Cooperation
from Rajendra Singh, Assistant Program Coordinator, and his staff for their help in
organising workshops and office logistics for the same is especially thanked.
The efforts of Soumma Chandra, Editor (Contractual), Chanchal Chauhan,
Assistant Editor (Contractual), Surender Kumar, (Incharge, DTP Cell, NCERT), and
Mohammed Aariz DTP Operator (Contractual) of the Publication Division, NCERT, in
bringing out the first edition of this book are also highly appreciated.

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 9 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 x

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 10 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Contents
Foreword iii
Preface v

Unit I: Recombinant DNA Technology 1–110

Chapter 1: An Overview of Recombinant DNA Technology 3
1.1 An Overview of Recombinant DNA Technology 3

Chapter 2: Host–Vector System 9

2.1 Two Key Components of Recombinant DNA Technology 9
2.2 Host 10
2.3 Vector 10
2.4 Eukaryotic Host Vector System 20
2.5 Expression Vectors 22
2.6 Shuttle vectors 23

Chapter 3: Gene Cloning 27

3.1 Identification of Candidate Gene 27
3.2 Isolation of Nucleic Acids 28
3.3 Enzymes used for Recombinant Dna Technology 34
3.4 Modes of Dna Transfer 40
3.5 Screening and Selection 44
3.6 Blotting Techniques 48
3.7 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) 52
3.8 DNA Libraries 59

Chapter 4: Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology 67

4.1 Dna Fingerprinting 67
4.2 Transgenic Organism 71
4.3 Gene Therapy 85
4.4 Recombinant Vaccines 90
4.5 Therapeutic Agents/Molecules: Monoclonal Antibodies,
Insulin and Growth Hormone 98

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 11 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Unit II: Genome Engineering 111–140
Chapter 5: Genome Technology and Engineering 113
5.1 Mapping of the Genome: Genetic and Physical 113
5.2 High–Throughput DNA Sequencing 118
5.3 Other Genome-related Technology 124
5.4 Genome Engineering 126
5.5 Structural, Functional and Comparative Genomics 130
5.6 Protein Engineering 132

Unit III: Microbial, Plant, Animal Cell,

Organ Culture and Bio processing 141–252
Chapter 6: Microbial Culture 143
6.1 Historical Perspective 143
6.2 Nutritional Requirements and Culture Media 148
6.3 Sterilisation Methods 153
6.4 Pure Culture Techniques 156
6.5 Factors Affecting Microbial Growth 159
6.6 The Growth Curve 161

Chapter 7: Plant Tissue Culture 167

7.1 Historical Perspective 167
7.2 Plant Cell and Tissue Culture Techniques 170
7.3 Nutrient Media 173
7.4 Culture Types 174
7.5 Applications of Plant Cell and Tissue Culture 176

Chapter 8: Animal Cell Culture 185

8.1 Historical Perspective 186
8.2 Culture Media 187
8.3 Physical Environment for Culturing Animal Cells 190
8.4 Equipment Used for Cell Culture 193
8.5 Types of Animal Cell Cultures and Cell Lines 196
8.6 Cell Viability Determination 200
8.7 Advantages of Animal Cell Culture 202
8.8 Applications of Animal Cell Culture 202

xii

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 12 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Chapter 9: Stem Cell Culture and Organ Culture 209
9.1 Stem Cell Culture 209
9.2 Organ Culture 221

Chapter 10: Bioprocessing and Biomanufacturing 231

10.1 Historical Perspective 232
10.2 Instrumentation in Bioprocessing:
Bioreactor and Fermenter Design 233
10.3 Operational Stages of Bioprocess 236
10.4 Bioprocessing and Biomanufacturing of Desired Products 246

Unit IV: Bioremediation 253–288

Chapter 11: Bioremediation 255
11.1 Waste Water Treatment 255
11.2 Solid Waste Management 265
11.3 Management and Disposal of Bio-medical Waste 272
11.4 Bioremediation of Pesticides 275

Unit V: Recent Innovations in Biotechnology and

Entrepreneurship 289–342
Chapter 12: Recent Innovations in Biotechnology 291
12.1 Environmental Biotechnology 291
12.2 Plant Biotechnology 298
12.3 Regenerative Medicine 304
12.4 Nanobiotechnology 308
12.5 Synthetic Biology 315
12.6 Future Prospects 317

Chapter 13: Entrepreneurship 323

13.1 Concept of Entrepreneurship 323
13.2 Sources of Funds 328
13.3 Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology 329
13.4 Concept of IPR 332
13.5 Biopiracy 336

xiii

Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 13 1/9/2025 4:30:13 PM

 Reprint 2025-26

Prelims_XII_Final.indd 14 20-Feb-25 4:02:44 PM