microorganism in the production of various economic products

1. MICROBES IN THE
PRODUCTION OF
ENZYMES,
ANTIBIOTICS AND
BIOPOLYMER
Prepared by
Varsha Jayasankar

2. MICROBES IN PRODUCTION OF ENZYMES
 Enzymes are the bio-catalysts playing an important role in all stages of
metabolism and biochemical reactions. Certain enzymes are of special interest
and are utilized as organic catalysts in numerous processes on an industrial scale.
 Microbial enzymes are known to be superior enzymes obtained from different
microorganisms, particularly for applications in industries on commercial scales.
 Microorganisms are favored sources for industrial enzymes due to easy
availability, and fast growth rate. Genetic changes using recombinant DNA
technology can easily be done on microbial cells for elevated enzyme production
and scientific development
 In recent advances of biotechnology, according to the requirements of a process,
various enzymes have been and are being designed or purposely engineered.

3.  Various established classes of enzymes are specific to perform specialized catalytic reactions
and have established their uses in selected bio-processes.
 microbial enzymes are used in the treatment of health disorders associated with deficiency
of human enzymes caused by genetic problems. For instance, patients with inherited congenital
sucrase-isomaltase deficiency are unable to digest sucrose, and therefore, sacrosidase (β-
fructofuranoside fructohydrolase) enzyme is given orally to facilitate digestion of sucrose.
 Production of microbial enzymes is a necessary event in the industrial sectors, due to the high
and superior performances of enzymes from different microbes, which work well under a wide
range of varied physical and chemical conditions.

4.  Most of the commercially applicable proteases are alkaline and are bio-synthesized
mainly by bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Clostridium, and some fungi
are also reported to produce these enzymes.
 The xylanases with significant applications in bio-industries are produced by the
fungal species belonging to genera Trichoderma, Penicillium and Aspergillus; the
xylanases produced by these microorganisms have been found to possess high activity
over a wide range of temperatures (40–60 °C)

5.  To meet the increased consumption of
polymers and the growing concern for
human health and environmental
safety has led to the utilization of
microbial enzymes for synthesis of
biodegradable polymer.
 Enzymes are used in industrial
processes, such as baking, brewing,
detergents, fermented products,
pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather
processing.

7. MICROBES IN THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTICS
 Antibiotics are low-molecular-weight microbial metabolites that at low concentrations
inhibit the growth of other microorganism.
 The antibacterial effect of penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1929. He
noted that a fungal colony had grown as a contaminant on an agar plate streaked with the
bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and that the bacterial colonies around the fungus were
transparent, because their cells were lysing.
 Narrow-spectrum antibiotics (eg, penicillin) target a few types of bacteria. Broad-
spectrum antibiotics target many types of bacteria (eg, amoxicillin and gentamicin).
 Several microorganisms are known to produce a wide variety of antibiotics that are
being developed and used against numerous life-threatening infections and diseases in
humans, animals, and agriculture.

8. • Antibiotics are produced by several groups of microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and
actinomycetes as their natural defense system against other microbes living in their
vicinity.
• Industrial microbiology can be used to produce antibiotics via the process of
fermentation, where the source microorganism is grown in large containers
(100,000–150,000 liters or more) containing a liquid growth medium.
• Oxygen concentration, temperature, pH and nutrient are closely controlled. As
antibiotics are secondary metabolites, the population size must be controlled very
carefully to ensure that maximum yield is obtained before the cells die.
• Once the process is complete, the antibiotic must be extracted and purified to a
crystalline product. This is easier to achieve if the antibiotic is soluble in organic
solvent. Otherwise it must first be removed by ion exchange, adsorption or chemical
precipitation.

10.  Different types of antibiotics work in different ways. For example, penicillin
destroys bacterial cell walls, while other antibiotics can affect the way the
bacterial cell works.
 Antibiotics fight bacterial infections either by killing bacteria or slowing and
suspending its growth. They do this by:
 attacking the wall or coating surrounding bacteria
 interfering with bacteria reproduction
 blocking protein production in bacteria

11. Antibiotic resistance
 Antibiotic resistance in bacteria has emerged as a medical catastrophe. This results from the
speed at which bacteria multiply and are spread, and the ease with which they can change
their genetic material or acquire new genes.
 They exert biochemical resistance by preventing entry of the drug, by rapidly extruding the
drug, or by enzymatically inactivating the drug or altering its molecular target.
 Inappropriate Prescribing
 Extensive Agricultural Use
CAUSE OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

12. MICROBES IN THE PRODUCTION OF BIOPOLYMERS
 Biopolymers are natural polymers produced by the cells of living organisms. Biopolymers
consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger molecules.
 There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomers used
and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides, polypeptides,
and polysaccharides.
 Biopolymers are produced by living organisms and are synthesized by processive enzymes
that link building blocks such as sugars, amino acids or hydroxy fatty acids to yield high
molecular weight molecules..
 Bacteria can synthesize various classes of these biopolymers, such as polysaccharides
(composed of sugars and/or sugar acids connected by glycosidic linkages), polyamides
(composed of amino acids connected by peptide bonds), polyesters (composed of hydroxy
fatty acids linked by ester bonds) and polyphosphates (polyPs; composed of inorganic
phosphates linked by anhydride bonds).

13.  Collagen: Collagen is the primary structure of vertebrates and is the most abundant
protein in mammals. Because of this, collagen is one of the most easily attainable
biopolymers, and used for many research purposes
 Alginate: Alginate is the most copious marine natural polymer derived from brown
seaweed. Alginate biopolymer applications range from packaging, textile and food
industry to biomedical and chemical engineering.
 Polyesters: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) such as poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate)
are bacterially synthesized bioplastics. They are linear polyesters that are
synthesized and assembled into hydrophobic spherical inclusions and they function
in carbon and energy storage.
 PHAs have been considered as unique bio-based plastics that can be bioengineered,
chemically modified and processed into high-value medical materials (for example,
sutures, tissue engineering scaffolds, drug carriers and particulate vaccines) or low-
value commodity bioplastics

16.  Biopolymers can be sustainable, carbon neutral and are always renewable, because
they are made from living organisms like bacteria, which can be grown indefinitely.
 The application of bacterial biopolymers as bio-based materials is expanding.
Despite inherent properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability, some
bacterial bio-based materials have shortcomings; for example, they do not meet
specifications (such as consistency and purity) that are required for medical
applications.
 In addition, bacterial fermentation is inherently expensive and associated high
production costs often prohibit commercial use.