Transcript What are micro

Micro-organisms are organisms that are microscopic and
cannot be seen by the naked human eye. Fungi, algae,
bacteria, protozoa and viruses are all types of microorganism.
Biotechnologically
designed
and
employed
microorganisms for applications in food industry,
chemistry and pharmacy significantly increase the
importance. Because of their small size sophisticated
technology is required for detection and characterization
How are micro-organisms
used in industry?
Micro-organisms are essential to many processes. For
example, the nitrogen cycle (where nitrogen is
recycled in the ecosystem) or in the decomposition of
animal and plant waste. Micro-organisms are
increasingly important to industry, where they are
used in a huge variety of processes ranging from food
production to water treatment.
Fermentation
Fermentation is the chemical conversion of
carbohydrates into alcohols or acids. It occurs when
oxygen supplies are limited and therefore is a type of
anaerobic respiration.
One of the most well-known applications of microorganisms in industry is fermentation, where
carbohydrates (such as sugar) are converted into an
acid or an alcohol. Foods that are produced using these
methods include cheese, yoghurt, butter, beer, wine
and bread.
The grain is dried and crushed before hot water and
yeast are added to initiate fermentation. In the
fermentation process, sugars in the mixture are
converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide. After 2–5
days the beer is separated from the yeast, matured and
filtered before consumption.
The most common yeast that is used in the preparation
of beer is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known
as ‘baker’s yeast’ or ‘brewer’s yeast’. Beer is made from
barley, wheat or rye grain which is germinated to
convert starch to sugar such as maltose..
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Wine is also produced by fermentation. Grapes are
crushed to release the sugars, and yeast is then added
for fermentation and conversion of the sugars into
alcohol. For sparkling wines, the carbon dioxide
produced by the fermentation process is trapped to
create bubbles.
Probiotics
Probiotic (for life) bacteria can protect the host and
prevent disease. They are live micro-organisms that
provide a ealth benefit to the host. For example,
antibiotics can kill off normal intestinal flora and the
administration of probiotic bacteria can replenish the
flora to normal levels.
Yoghurt-based drinks that contain probiotic bacteria
(live micro-organisms that can give a health benefit to
the host) are increasingly popular. Bacterial strains
such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus convert lactose sugar
into lactic acid. This lowers the pH and causes the
milk to clot, creating the characteristic texture and
taste of yoghurt.
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
The live bacteria in probiotic yoghurts are thought to
restore the natural microbe population of the gut
(flora), which can be depleted by antibiotics,.
Bioethanol
Bioethanol is produced through fermentation. As in beer
production, sugar is extracted from crops, is crushed,
mixed with water and yeast, and fermented.Bioethanol
is biodegradable, low in toxicity and can be used as an
alternative for petrol in cars or mixed with petrol to
produce fuels that have lower emissions when burnt.
However, environmentally there are concerns with
biofuels. Large areas of farmland would need to be
dedicated to the growth of single crops for biofuel
production. This may reduce the habitat for plants and
animals or push up food prices because fewer crops
would be available for food use.
Biofuels
The field of biofuels is an exciting and rapidly
developing area of research which aims to reduce the
use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, and
decrease pollution and waste management problems.
Anaerobic micro-organisms can convert biomass, for
example manure or crop residues, into useful energy
sources, through landfill power plants for example. It
involves a type of fermentation process that produces
carbon dioxide and methane.
Biogas
The ‘biogas’ produced can be used as fuel or in the
generation of electricity. Alternatively, scientists are
developing processes that exploit photosynthetic
bacteria or algae. These micro-organisms can capture
sunlight to produce new biomass that can be turned
into alternative sources of energy.
Microbial Geotechnology
Microbial Geotechnology is a new branch of
geotechnical engineering that deals with the
applications of microbiological methods to
geological materials used in engineering. The aim of
these applications is to improve the mechanical
properties of soil so that it will be more suitable for
construction or environmental purposes. Two
notable
applications,
bioclogging
and
biocementation, have been explored.
Bioclogging is the production of pore-filling materials
through microbial means so that the porosity and
hydraulic conductivity of soil can be reduced.
Biocementation is the generation of particle-binding
materials through microbial processes in situ so that the
shear strength of soil can be increased. The most suitable
microorganisms for soil bioclogging or biocementation are
facultative anaerobic and microaerophilic bacteria,
although anaerobic fermenting bacteria, anaerobic
respiring bacteria, and obligate aerobic bacteria may also
be suitable to be used in geotechnical engineering. The
majority of the studies
Chemical grouting
Chemical grouting is a process to fill the soil voids with
fluid grouts. It is often used to control water flow
Common grouts are solution or suspension of sodium
silicate, acrylates, acrylamides, and polyurethanes.
Industrially produced water-insoluble gel-forming
biopolymers of microbial origin such as xantan,
chitosan, polyglutamic acid, sodium alginate, and
polyhydroxybutyrate can also be used as grouts for soil
erosion control, enclosing of bioremediation zone, and
mitigating soil liquefaction
Production of bacterial exopolymers
Production of bacterial exopolymers in situ can be used
to modify soil properties. This has been adopted for
enhancing oil recovery or soil bioremediation (Stewart
and Fogler 2001). The groups of microorganisms that
produce insoluble extracellular polysaccharides to
bind the soil particles and fill in the soil pores are
oligotrophic bacteria from genus Caulobacter.
Aerobic
Gram-negative
bacteria
from
genera
cinetobacter, Agrobacterium, Alcaligenes, Arcobacter,
Cytophaga, Flavobacterium, Pseudomonas, and
Rhizobium .Other groups of microorganisms are
cellulose-degrading
bacteria
from
species
Cellulomonas flavigena.
Other Applications
 Molecular basis of microbial genetics;
 Genetic enginerring techniques in plants, animals and
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microorganisms;
Mutation and mutant selection;
Genetic exchange;
Cloning;
Emerging techniques;
 Transgenesis - emerging applications;
 Rapid analytical technqieus, principles and
applications in the food industry;
 Practical applications of genetic technology in the
food industry;
 Enzyme production;
 Phage resistant cheese starters and enzyme
production;
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DNA probes;
Immunochemical assasys;
Enzyme immunoassays;
Biosensors;
Novel techniques;
Cultication of microorganisms, animal and plant cells in industrial
situations;
Engineering, biochemical and chemical considerations in fermentation
technologies;
Products and processes: microbial products, mammalian products,
antibiotics, vitamins and amnio acids, enzymes, organic acids;
Food fermentations and waste utilisation;
Regulatory, food safety and ethical issues related to applications of
biotechnology.
Thanks
“Bioprospecting”----An
incentive for the conservation
of biodiversity by adding value
to natural resources of Pakistan.
Bioprospecting
Bioprospecting of plants entails the search for
economically valuable biochemical resources from the
flora wealth of a country. Such initiatives hold the
promise of new medicines and biodegradable
pesticides that can be a source of income for
developing countries thus providing incentives to
conserve biodiversity.
Flora of Pakistan
 The flora of Pakistan is very rich due to the nations
diverse climatic and soil condition and multiple
ecological regions. The country has about 6000 species
of wild plants of wich 400 to 600 are considered to be
medicinally important.
 According to survay by Pakistan Forest Institute , 75
crude herbal drugs are extensively exported and more
than 200 are locally traded in Pakistan. Indigenous
people who have no traning in sustainable harvesting,
post harvesting care and storing of medicinal plants
collect 85percent of these crude herbs from wild.
 Such activitvity is causing a rapid depletion of
medicinal plants resources. In addition, indigenous
knowledge used to identity, evaluate and apply
medicinal plants is dying out and no systematic
documentation of ethnobotanic information exists.
Valuable contribution of Bioprospecting
 H.E.J Research Institute of chemistry at the university
of karachi initiated a program whose thrust was
 to generate new opportunities to improve national
capacities
 To add value to medicinal plant resources.
Program focused on research and development work in
the area of chemistry, taxonomy, agronomy and
traditional medicines
Project categories
 Singal plant species were selected on the basis of their
folk use and screened for their biological activities and
chemical constituents.
 The second set of project involve the rationalization of
composite plant based remedies and manufacturing of
herbal based medicines that are already in use.
 These projects include standardization of medicines,
toxicological studies and bioassay screenings.
Threat to medicinal flora of pakistan
According to a survay , Crude medicinal plant material
worth more than Rs. 150million (US$2.3 million) per
year .Most of these plants are obtained from the wild.
Pakistan export large quantities of crude plants at very
cheap prices in the international market (worth US $6
million), in the entire business chain, gatherers receive
the least money and are forced to collect more and
more plant material to survive.so pakistan receives a
paultry return from its natural flora wealth.
 As a result, the country has become a major exporter of
bulk cheap crude materials leading to the rapid
depletion of medicinal plant resources.
It is important that research and development efforts
focus on the value –addition and sustainable
utilization of medicinal plant resources.
Issues of Bioprospecting
 How to add value to the medicinal plant resources
 How to develop institutional capacities
 How to build skills in Bioprospecting
 How to develop indigenous technology
These issues ,if resolved, could dramatically transform
Pakistan s involvement in the world economy from a
raw material provider to a final product producer.
Bioprospecting practices-Conservation of
medicinal flora
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Identifying bioactive constituents
Producing plant-based pesticides
Studying the efficacy and safety of plant based
composite medicines
Producing garlic based edible oils
Cultivating catharanthus roseus and vinblastine
Developing programmes to increase the value of raw
plant materials
Note: please find details of these 6 points from given paper
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