This document discusses the use of microbes in industry, focusing on the production of enzymes like amylase. It notes that industries grow microorganisms in large tanks called fermentors to produce products on a large scale. Examples of industrial microbe uses include producing alcoholic beverages through fermentation and antibiotics. The document also describes the production and uses of the enzymes amylase and beta-amylase, which are used to hydrolyze starches. It highlights that bacteria like Bacillus species are commonly used to commercially produce alpha-amylase.

1. USE OF MICROBES IN INDUSTRY
AND ENZYME AMYLASE
BY
DILIP O. MORANI,
ASST. PROF.
SHRI D.D. VISPUTE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
AND RESEARCH CENTER, PANVEL.
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2. Use of microbes in Industry
Industries also use microbes to make products of value to
humans.
Since products are made on a large-scale in industries,
microorganisms are also grown in bulk in large tanks called
‘fermentors’.
Industries use microbes to make the various products.
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3. (A) Fermented Beverages
The baker’s yeast that is used to make bread, is also used
to ferment malted cereals and fruit juices to make beverages
such as beer, whiskey, wine, brandy etc.
The raw material used and the type of processing (distillation or
no distillation) gives rise to different alcoholic drinks.
For example, processing without distillation produces wine and
beer, whereas distillation of fermented broth produces whisky
and brandy.
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4. (B) Antibiotics
‘Anti’ means against and ‘bio’ means life.
Microbes produce chemicals that can kill or stop the
growth of disease-causing organisms.
These are antibiotics.
The discovery of antibiotics in the twentieth century was
very important to human health.
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5. Continue…
The scientist Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered
the first antibiotic – Penicillin.
During World War II, Penicillin was extensively used to
treat wounded American soldiers.
Deadly diseases such as plague, whooping cough,
diphtheria which claimed many lives in the past, are now
treatable because of antibiotics.
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6. (C) Chemicals, Enzymes And Other
Bioactive Molecules
 The microbial activity also helps to produce chemicals like organic acids
and alcohols.
 Examples of organisms used are Aspergillus niger (citric acid), Clostridium
butylicum (butyric acid), Acetobacter aceti (acetic acid).
 The detergents used to remove oily stains contain enzymes such as lipases
derived from microbes.
 Another microbe ‘Streptococcus’ produces Streptokinase that helps to
remove blood clots in patients suffering a heart attack.
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7. Continue…
Microbes (Trichoderma polysporum) also produce
bioactive molecules like cyclosporin A.
They are used to suppress the immune system during organ
transplant procedures.
 Microbes such as Monascus purpureus produce statins
which help to lower blood cholesterol levels.
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8. Production of enzymes
Enzymes used in industry are isolated from micro-organism, plants and
animals.
Enzymes are commercially produced by semisolid culture methods and
submerged culture.
In semisolid culture method, enzyme producing culture is grown on the
surface of a suitable semisolid substrate supplemented with specific
nutrients.
.
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9. Continue…
 Nowadays submerged culture methods are widely used in production
of enzymes.
 Fermentation equipment is same as in the manufacture of antibiotics.
 Microbial enzymes produced by fermentation include amylases,
proteases, catalase, penicillinase, streptokinase, etc.
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10. Amylases
 Amylolytic enzymes are widely distributed in bacteria and
fungi.
 Amylases are mainly used for production of sweetners for
food industry e.g. glucose syrup, fructose syrup,.
 Dextrins are prepared by hydrolysis of starch with amylases.
 Amylases are used commercially for the preparation of sizing
agents and removal of starch sizing from woven cloth.
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11. Continue…
 Also used in the preparation of starch sizing pastes for use in paper
coatings and liquefaction of heavy starch pastes which form during
steps in the manufacture of corn and chocolate syrups.
 It can be employed as a replacement for malt for starch hydrolysis
in brewing industry.
 Amylases are characterized by their ability to hyrolyze 1,4 glucosidic
linkages in polysaccharides e.g. starch, glucogen etc.
 They are classified into two types α-amylases and β-amylases.
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12. α-amylases
 A-amylases, 1, 4-α-glucanglucanohydrolyses are endoenzymes, responsible
for affecting the cleavage of substrate strategically positioned in the interior
of the molecule.
 They attack all the linkages between glucose units in the starch molecule.
 A large number of bacterial species are used for production of α-amylases
such as Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. amyloliquefaciens,
Lactobacillus sp. , Pseudomonas saccharophilia, Arthrobacter sp., Escherichia
sp., Thermonospora sp. Etc.
 Selected strains of Bacillus subtilis are mainly preferred for industrial scale
production of amylase.
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 Fungal α-amylases for commercial purposes are derived from Aspergillus
oryzae.
 Different species of Aspergillus, Candida, Cephalosporium, Penicillium and
Rhizopus are used for production of highly specific α-amylase.
 Bacterial α-amylase is produced only by submerged culture method.
 Media employed are generally based on the use of natural raw materials
including certain growth factors such as trace elements, vitamins and amino
acids.
 A careful balance of carbohydrate and nitrogen ingredients of medium is
most important.
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14. Continue…
 It is necessary to maintain pH near neutrality and incubation
temperature 30-40ºC of fermentation medium for 3-5 days.
 After fermentation, culture is filtered or centrifuged to separate the
cells.
 Amylase can be precipitated from aqueous solution by the addition
of cold acetone, ethanol, isopropanol or ammonium sulphate.
 It is purified by dialysis and chromatographic techniques.
 Fungal a-amylase was originally and still produced in significant
amounts in solid substrate culture.
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15. β-Amylases
 B-amylases, α-1, 4-glycanmalthydrolases hydrolyze starch and
other amyloses by splitting off maltose molecules until action
is blocked by occurrence of either 1,3 linkages or branch
points.
 Residual molecule is then called a limit dextrin.
 β-amylases are mainly belong to the plant origin.
 However, certain specific microorganisms produce this
enzyme such as Bacillus polymyxa, Bacillus cereus,
Streptomyces sp., Psuedomonas sp. And Rhizopus species.
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16. REFERENCE
 Pharmaceutical biotechnology- Fundamentals and
Applications by Prof. Chandrakant Kokare, Sixth edition-
August 2018, Nirali Prakashan, page no. 16.21-16.23
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