microbial biotechnology Flashcards
What is Microbial Biotechnology?
Microbial biotechnology, also known as industrial microbiology, involves utilizing microorganisms to produce economically valuable products or perform activities on a large commercial scale. The microorganisms used in industrial processes can be natural strains, laboratory-selected mutants, or genetically modified variants.
How can microorganisms be used as tools in biotechnology?
Microbial Enzymes
such as
Taq (DNA polymerase), cellulases, proteases, amylases can be used as tools in biotechnology.
What is the used of the microbial enzyme Taq DNA polymerase?
Taq DNA polymerase, extracted from an archaebacteria in a hot spring, is a heat stable enzyme used in
PCR reactions.
What is the used of the microbial enzyme Cellulase?
Cellulase is produced by E.coli and is widely used by animals to make their food more easily digestible.
What is the used of the microbial enzyme Protease?
Proteases are in laundry detergents and function to degrade and remove protein stains from clothing.
What is the used of the microbial enzyme Amylase?
Amylase is used to degrade starch for making corn syrup.
What is the used of the microbial enzyme Yeast?
Yeast is source of antibiotics, blood cholesterol lowering drugs.
What is fermentation?
Fermentation is an anaerobic process that generates energy by the breakdown
of organic compounds, the end products can be microbial metabolites such as
lactic acid, enzymes, the alcohols ethanol and butanol and acetone.
How do industrial users define fermentation?
Industrial users have broadened it;
1)biomass production (any process that produces bacteria and fungi)
2)biotransformation (Biotransformation is the metabolic modification of a substance, typically a chemical, by a living organism, especially the liver or other organs. It commonly refers to the metabolism of drugs and foreign compounds)
What is a bioreactor?
A bioreactor is a large chamber or fermenter where cultured aerobic/anaerobic microorganisms or cell-free enzymes breakdown raw materials into biochemical products in controlled conditions
What are the different examples of a bioreactor?
1) The microbial cell itself is a miniature bioreactor;
2) other examples include
shake flasks,
3) Petri dishes, and
4) industrial fermenters.
5) Diagnostic products based on enzymatic reactions,
6) farm silos for silage
fermentations,
7) bread pans with fermenting yeast, and
8) the soil in a Kansas
wheat field
may also be viewed as bioreactors.
What are the characteristics of a bioreactor?
While the bioreactor may be simple or highly instrumented, the important
consideration is the ability to produce the desired product or result. The
bioreactor is designed and operated to provide the environment for product
formation selected by the scientist, baker, or winemaker.
What are bioreactors considered the center of?
Bioreactors are the centre or heart of many biotechnological systems that are used for agricultural,
environmental, industrial, and medical applications.
What is the purpose of using Bioreactors?
Bioreactors are vessels used to grow large batches of cells, cultures, or tissue
in a controlled environment. Bioreactor cultures can be used to produce a
variety of chemicals, including antibiotics, vaccines, enzymes, and
fragrances. They are used in several industries, including food and beverage
processing, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.
What is the structure of a bioreactor?
Bioreactors can vary in design, with simple cylindrical or spherical shapes being common, although more complex designs are utilized to increase volume or enhance environmental control. A typical bioreactor includes internal tubing to facilitate optimal growth conditions for the culture, such as temperature, nutrients, and pH regulation. The culture medium, containing recombinant microorganisms, fills the bioreactor. These microorganisms metabolize the nutrients in the medium to produce the desired product, which is later separated and purified in the downstream processing stage.
