Industrial value of bacteria

2. Contents

3. Introduction
 Bacteria are described in two ways:
Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology.
Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.
 The bacterial classification is based on 16S RNA sequences
 Carl Woese, Oganizes the Domain Bacteria into 18 phyla
 Bacterial phyla used in industrial microbiology and biotechnology.

5. Proteobacteria
 Proteus, the Greek word : God of the sea, who could change his shape.
 Proteobacteria include a wide variety of pathogens
 All Proteobacteria are Gram-negative, move using flagella.
 Wide variety in the types of metabolism.
 Most members are facultatively or obligately anaerobic.
 Proteobacteria are divided into five groups.

6. Importance In Industry
 Alphaproteobacteria of Current industrial Importance are:
Acetobacter
Gluconobacter
Zymomonas : Copious amount of Alcohol
 Acetic acid bacteria Properties:
 Production of glucoronic acid ,galactonic aicd, arabonic acid
 Vineger, sorbose.
 Manufacture of ascorbic acid
 Produce pure cellulose

7. Agrobacterium tumefaciens
 Soil bacterium.
 T DNA (gall producing gene)
occurs in Ti plasmid.
 Ti plasmid is used as vector for
higher plants.
 Produced genetically modified
plants.
 Cry gene an Nif gene is cloned
inside A. tumifaciens
 Golden Rice
 Greater pro vitamin A content

8. Firmicutes
 Gram-positive bacteria
 The G+C ratio is an taxonomic characteristic used in classifying bacteria.
 Fermicutes contain many bacteria of industrial importance.
 Divided into three major groups:
Spore forming firmicutes
Non-Spore forming firmicutes
Wall-less

9. Spore forming firmicutes
 Form internal spores.
 Divided into two:
 Clostridium spp :pathogens of humans and animals.
 Clostridium thermocellum :convert the sugars into ethanol
 Bacillus spp : enzyme production, to kill insects.
 Bacillus papilliae : infects and kills the larvae of the beetles in plants.
 B. thuringiensis : used against mosquitoes genes for the toxin
produced by B. thuringiensis
 Engineered into plants to make them resistant to insect pests.

10. Bacillus thuringiensis
 Soil bacterium.
 Produces a protein that has insecticidal
properties.
 used as spray.
 Bt produces Bt toxins which are inactive
protoxins.
 When an insect ingests it, inactive
protoxin gets converted into active form
 This led to swelling of gut and ultimately
death of insect .

11. Bt crops are now commercially available.

12. Non-Spore Forming Firmicutis
 non-spore forming low G+C members of the firmicutes group
 Lactic acid bacteria are Rods or cocci : production of foods, industrial and pharmaceutical products.
 They lack porphyrins and cytochromes.
 Lactic acid bacteria are divided into two major groups:
Homofermentative
Heterofermentative
 Desirable characteristics of lactic acid bacteria as industrial microorganisms.
 Resent Research .

13. Continue:
 The choice of a particular lactic acid bacterium for production primarily depends on the
carbohydrate to be fermented.
 Lactobacillus delbreuckii :ferment sucrose.
 Lactobacillus delbreuckii subspecies bulgaricus :use lactose
 Lactobacillus helveticus : use lactose and galactose.
 Lactobacillus amylophylus & Lactobacillus amylovirus :ferment starch.
 Lactobacillus lactis : ferment glucose, sucrose and galactose
 Lactobacillus pentosus : ferment sulfite waste liquor.

14. Continue
 Streptococcu: cause sore throat, non-pathogenic
strains used in yoghurt manufacture.
 Enterococcus: Used to monitor water quality
 Lactococcus: Used as starter in yoghurt
manufacture, Produces copious amounts of lactic
acid.
 Pediococcus: Spoils beer, required in special beers
such as lambic beer drunk in parts of Belgium
 Leuconostoc: Involved in pickling of vegetables,
produce dextrans from sucrose.

16. Actinobacteria
 G+C content of 50% or higher.
 Tendency to form filaments or
hyphae
 Industrial Importance are :
Actinomycetes
Corynebacterium

17. Importance In Industry
 Corynebacterium spp : secreters of amino acids
 Corynebacterium glutamicum is used for the industrial
manufacture of products .
 L-lysine is mainly used for its beneficial properties
as additive in animal and human nutrition.

18. Actinomycetes
 Branching filamentous hyphae
 Petidoglycan in their cell walls, and about 1.0 in diameter
 Ability to produce secondary metabolites which are of industrial
importance.
 Search for any bioactive microbial metabolite from soil.
 Streptomyces : many antibiotics as well as non-anti-microbial drugs
have been obtained.
 Streptomycin, the first antibiotic to cure tuberculosis.
 Erythromycin, Neomycin, Tetracycline and Cefoxitin.

19. Other Bacteria and Their Importance