Biotechnology is one of the major technologies of the twenty-first century. Its wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary activities include recombinant DNA techniques, cloning and the application of microbiology to the production of goods from bread to antibiotics. In this edited book, the authors provide a complete overview of biotechnology. The fundamental principles that underpin all biotechnology are explained and a full range of examples are discussed to show how these principles are applied; from starting substrate to final product. With the use of comparative studies, this book also discusses the legal, agribusiness and public policy issues that connect intellectual property protection with advancements in agricultural biotechnology.