L5: Industrial Microbiology

Question 0

Name the major organisms used in industrial microbiology

Answer 0

Fungi and streptomyces

Question 1

Name 5 microbial products of industrial interest.

Answer 1

1) microbial cells
2) enzymes
3) antibiotics, steroids, alkaloids
4) food additives
5) commodity chemicals

Question 2

What is industrial microbiology and what could it be used for?

Answer 2

Microorganisms, grown on a large scale,

–> to produce products or carry out chemical transformation.

Question 3

What are primary metabolites?

Answer 3

Produced during exponential growth –> alcohol.

Question 4

What are secondary metabolites?

Answer 4

Large organic molecules,

That require a large number of specific enzymatic steps for production.

Question 5

During which phase are secondary metabolites produced?

Answer 5

Stationary.

Question 6

What is a fermenter

Answer 6

The vessel where the microbiology process takes place.

Question 7

What is a fermentation?

Answer 7

Large scale reaction

Question 8

Typically, what type of metabolite are antibiotics?

Answer 8

Secondary

Question 9

Define antibiotics

Answer 9

Compounds that kill or inhibit the growth of other microbes.

Question 10

Most antibiotics in clinical use are produced by…

Answer 10

Filamentous fungi or actinomycetes

Question 11

Are antibiotics still discovered by a laboratory screening process?

Answer 11

Yes

Question 12

What is one method is isolating and characterising antibiotics?

Answer 12

Cross streak method

Question 13

What is the cross streak method used for

Answer 13

Used to test new microbial isolates for antibiotic production.

–> most isolates produce known antibiotics.

Question 14

What is the time and cost of developing new antibiotics?

Answer 14

Approximately 15 years and 1 billion dollars

Question 15

What type of antibiotic are penicillins?

Answer 15

B-lactam antibiotics

Question 16

What type of metabolite are penicillins?

Answer 16

Secondary

Question 17

High levels of ……. repress penicillin production

Answer 17

Glucose

Question 18

Deficiency of ……… what results in pernicious anemia?

Answer 18

Vitamin B12.

Question 19

What are steroids derivatives of?

Answer 19

Sterols

Question 20

Define steroids

Answer 20

Important animal hormones with medicinal uses.

Question 21

Production of steroids can be costly. What can be used to reduce costs?

Answer 21

Microbes

Question 22

What is the process of using microbes to reduce the costs of steroid production?

Answer 22

Bio transformation

Question 23

Define biotechnology

Answer 23

Use of LIVING organisms for INDUSTRIAL or COMMERCIAL applications.

Question 24

Define genetically modified organisms (GMO)

Answer 24

An organism whose genome has been ALTERED using GENETIC ENGINEERING.

Question 25

What does genetic engineering allow?

Answer 25

The CLONING and EXPRESSION of eukaryotic genes in prokaryotes

Question 26

Do cloned mammalian genes contain their introns?

Answer 26

No.

Question 27

Mammalian genes no longer contain their introns. How is this achieved?

Answer 27

1) Cloning the gene via mRNA

2) Finding the gene via the protein

Question 28

What is protein purification

Answer 28

Fusion of a target protein with a carrier protein.

Question 29

Protein synthesis in a foreign host is subject to other problems, such as (3)

Answer 29

• DEGRADATION by intracellular pro teases
• TOXICITY to prokaryotic host
• formation of inclusion bodies

Question 30

What was the first human protein commercially made by genetic engineering?

Answer 30

Insulin

Question 31

What are 3 recombinant vaccines?

Answer 31

• vector vaccines
• subunit vaccine
• DNA vaccine

Question 32

Define polyvalent vaccine

Answer 32

SINGLE vaccine that immunises against 2 DIFFERENT diseases

Question 33

Define vector vaccine

Answer 33

Vaccine made by inserting genes from a PATHOGENIC virus into a relatively HARMLESS, CARRIER protein.

Question 34

Define subunit vaccine

Answer 34

Vaccines that contain only a SPECIFIC protein or proteins from a PATHOGENIC organism.

Question 35

Define DNA vaccine (genetic vaccine)

Answer 35

Vaccine that uses the DNA of a pathogen to elicit an immune response.

Question 36

What does a DNA vaccine contain?

Answer 36

Defined fragments of genomic DNA

Or

Specific genes encoding immunogenic proteins are used

Question 37

Describe how a DNA vaccine works

Answer 37

–> cloned into a plasmid/viral vector,

–> delivered by injection