Microbial Diversity and its Application

1. Microbial Diversity and its Application

2. What are micro-organisms? 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 micro-organism. 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

3. How are micro-organismsused 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.

4. 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.

5. One of the most well-known applications of micro- organisms 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.

6. 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.

7. The most common yeast that is used in the preparation of beer is Saccharomycescerevisiae, 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.. Saccharomycescerevisiae

8. 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.

9. 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.

11. 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

12. The live bacteria in probiotic yoghurts are thought to restore the natural microbe population of the gut (flora), which can be depleted by antibiotics,.

13. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

18. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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

26. 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.

27. 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 Cellulomonasflavigena.

28. Other Applications • Molecular basis of microbial genetics; • Genetic enginerring techniques in plants, animals and microorganisms; • Mutation and mutant selection; • Genetic exchange; • Cloning; • Emerging techniques;

29. 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;

30. 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.

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32. “Bioprospecting”----An incentive for the conservation of biodiversity by adding value to natural resources of Pakistan.

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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

38. 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.

39. These projects include standardization of medicines, toxicological studies and bioassay screenings.

40. 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.sopakistan receives a paultry return from its natural flora wealth.

41. 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.

42. 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.

43. Bioprospecting practices-Conservation of medicinal flora • Identifying bioactive constituents • Producing plant-based pesticides • Studying the efficacy and safety of plant based composite medicines • Producing garlic based edible oils • Cultivating catharanthusroseus 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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