Introduction to Microbial Biotechnology Course Contents

Course contents- Theory

Microbial Biotechnology|Biotech-552|Dr. Zia|Lec 1
1.  Introduc=on, Issues and scope of microbial biotechnology
2.  Gene=cally modified microorganisms
3.  Biotechnological poten=al of microbes
4.  Microbes as tools for microbiological research
5.  Significance of microorganisms in food produc=on,
fermenta=on, pharmaceu=cal and other industries
6.  Vaccine development and produc=on
7.  Microbiological mining and biofuels
8.  Plant-microbe interac=ons
9.  Bio-fer=lizers, biopes=cides, compos=ng
10. Significance of microbial biotechnology in the economic
development of Pakistan

Course contents- Prac1cal

1. Isola=on and screening of poten=al microbes from
diﬀerent environmental sources
2. Lab scale produc=on of bacterial enzymes
3. Lab-scale produc=on of alcohol by yeast
4. The use of microbes in bioleaching
5. Use of microbes in microbial enhanced oil recovery

Grading scheme

•  Midterm- 30 points
•  Final- 30 points
•  Assignment- 10 points
•  Viva- 20 points
•  AWendance- 10 points

Introduc1on and Scope of microbial
biotechnology

Contents of today’s lecture
1.  General introduc1on
2. Taxonomic posi1on of microorganisms important in
microbial biotechnology
3.  Advantages of microorganisms over plants or
animals as inputs in biotechnology
4.  Applica1ons of microbial biotechnology
5.  Ethical issues

1. General introduc1on
“The use of microorganisms to obtain an economically valuable
product or ac1vity at a commercial or large scale”
Or

“The study of the large-scale and proﬁt- mo1vated produc1on of
microorganisms or their products for direct use, or as inputs in
the manufacture of other goods”
Or

“Any technological applica1on that uses microbiological
systems, microorganisms, or deriva1ves thereof, to make or
modify products or processes for speciﬁc use.”

United Na=ons Conference on Biological Diversity, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, 1992

Microbes are organisms that are too small to be seen by
the unaided eye

•  Bacteria
•  Fungi
•  Protozoa
•  Microalgae
•  Viruses
Habitats
•  Soil
•  Water
•  Food
•  Animal intes1nes
•  More extreme seUngs such as
rocks, glaciers, hot springs, and
deep-sea vents

Microorganisms
•  Natural
•  Laboratory selected
mutant
•  Gene1cally
engineered strains
Products
•  Alcohols
•  Solvents, organic acids
•  Amino acids
•  Enzymes
•  Fermented dairy products
•  Food addi1ves
•  Vitamins
•  An1bio1cs
•  Recombinant proteins and hormones
etc

2. Taxonomic posi1on of micro-organisms
important in microbial biotechnology
The kingdom of living organisms was termed as domain
by Carl R. Woese in 1978

•  Cell type
•  Diﬀerences in rRNA,
•  Membrane lipid structure
•  Transfer RNA molecules
•  Sensi=vity to an=bio=cs

•  Taxonomic classiﬁca=on of microorganisms according
to similarity is important for industrial and clinical
applica=ons where close rela=onships imply similar
uses and/or treatments
•  Current microbial taxonomy is phylogeny-guided, i.e.,
the organisms are grouped based on their
evolu=onary rela=onships, deﬁned by ver1cal
inheritance of gene1c informa1on from mother to
daughter cells

•  The current taxonomic assignments cannot
guarantee genome-encoded molecular func=onal
similarity; i.e.

—two microbes of the same taxonomic group
inhabi=ng different environments may be very
different;
just as your cousin may be more different from you
than your unrelated best friend

•  Microbes are capable of horizontal gene transfer
(HGT)


•  e.g. func=onal-repertoire similarity-based
organism network (FuSiON; ﬂaWened to fusion)
•  Organisms can be consistently assigned to
groups based on a quan=ta=ve measure of their
func=onal similari=es

Mechanisms of HGT

There are several mechanisms for horizontal gene transfer

1.  Transforma=on
2.  Transduc=on (via bacteriophage, or phage)
3.  Bacterial conjuga=on (a process that involves the transfer of DNA via a plasmid
from a donor cell to a recombinant recipient cell during cell-to-cell contact)
4.  Gene transfer agents (virus-like elements encoded by the host that are found in
the alphaproteobacteria order Rhodobacterales)

3. Advantages of microorganisms over plants
or animals as inputs in biotechnology
•  Rapid growth of microorganisms in comparison to
plants and animals
•  The space requirement for growth of microorganisms is
small
•  Microorganisms are not subject to the problems of the
vicissitudes of weather
•  Microorganisms are not aﬀected by diseases of plants
and animals

4. Applica1ons of microbial biotechnology

1.  Pharmacogenomics
1. Development of tailor-made medicines
2. More accurate methods of determining appropriate
drug dosages
3. Improvements in the drug discovery and approval
process
4. BeWer vaccines
2.  Gene1c tes1ng
3.  Bioremedia1on and biodegrada1on

4. Applica1ons of microbial biotechnology

5.  Gene Therapy
o Ex vivo
o In vivo
7.  Improving agricultural yield
8.  Biotechnology in cheese produc1on
9.  Bio fer1lizers, bio pes1cides and other agrochemicals
10. Produc1on of novel substances
11. Biofuels
12. Comba1ng bioterrorism

5. Ethical issues

Debatable !!

Suggested readings;

•  Biotechnology Industry Organiza=on. Biotechnology
in Perspec1ve. Washington, D.C.: Biotechnology
Industry Organiza=on. 1990.
•  Ginzburg, Lev. R. Assessing Ecological Risks of
Biotechnology. Boston: BuWerworth-Heinemann.
1991.
•  Margaret G. Mellon. Biotechnology and the
Environment: A Primer on the Environmental
Implica1ons of Gene1c Engineering.

§  Take home message
§  Tomorrow's lecture

Introduction to Microbial Biotechnology Course Contents

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Introduction to Microbial Biotechnology Course Contents