Biotechnology is the use of living organisms, cells or their parts to make useful products and to develop processes that benefit human beings. It is a very wide field, so it is divided into different branches. A popular way to classify biotechnology is by colour code — red, green, white, blue, yellow and others — where each colour stands for a particular area of application such as medicine, agriculture, industry or the environment. This guide explains the main branches of biotechnology and their uses.
Biotechnology uses living organisms or their parts to make useful products.
It is commonly classified by colours: red, green, white, blue, yellow and others.
Red biotechnology = medical (medicines, vaccines, gene therapy).
Green biotechnology = agriculture (GM crops, biofertilisers).
White (grey) biotechnology = industrial (enzymes, biofuels).
Blue biotechnology = marine/aquatic organisms.
Environmental biotechnology includes bioremediation and waste treatment.
Biotechnology is commonly divided into branches identified by colours:
Red biotechnology — medical and healthcare biotechnology. Deals with making medicines, vaccines, antibiotics, gene therapy and diagnostics.
Green biotechnology — agricultural biotechnology. Deals with crop improvement, genetically modified (GM) crops, biofertilisers and biopesticides.
White (grey) biotechnology — industrial biotechnology. Uses microbes and enzymes to make industrial products like biofuels, enzymes and chemicals, often in a cleaner way.
Blue biotechnology — marine and aquatic biotechnology. Uses sea organisms for products like medicines, cosmetics and food.
Yellow biotechnology — food biotechnology. Deals with food production and processing, such as fermentation.
Other colours sometimes used: brown (arid/desert and soil), gold (bioinformatics), dark (bioterrorism-related).
Medical biotechnology: production of insulin, vaccines, antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy and DNA-based diagnosis.
Agricultural biotechnology: development of high-yielding and pest-resistant crops, tissue culture, biofertilisers, and biopesticides.
Industrial biotechnology: production of enzymes, biofuels (like ethanol), organic acids, and biodegradable plastics.
Environmental biotechnology: treatment of waste and sewage, bioremediation (cleaning up pollution using microbes), and biogas production.
Animal biotechnology: improvement of livestock breeds, transgenic animals, and animal vaccines.
Biotechnology is commonly divided by colour code into: red biotechnology (medical), green biotechnology (agricultural), white or grey biotechnology (industrial), blue biotechnology (marine/aquatic), and yellow biotechnology (food). Other colours such as brown, gold and dark are also sometimes used for specific areas.
Red biotechnology is the branch concerned with medicine and healthcare. It deals with the production of medicines, vaccines, antibiotics, hormones like insulin, gene therapy and DNA-based diagnostics. The colour red represents blood and the medical field.
Green biotechnology is agricultural biotechnology — it deals with crop improvement, GM crops, biofertilisers and biopesticides. White (or grey) biotechnology is industrial biotechnology — it uses microbes and enzymes to make industrial products like biofuels, enzymes and chemicals, usually with cleaner and greener processes.
The main applications are in medicine (vaccines, insulin, gene therapy), agriculture (high-yielding and pest-resistant crops, tissue culture), industry (enzymes, biofuels, biodegradable plastics), the environment (waste treatment, bioremediation, biogas) and animal husbandry (improved breeds, animal vaccines).
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